Susan Wojcicki is often credited with creating AdSense, and for years, she’s been in charge of all Google’s advertising products. A significant shift may be occurring within the company, then, as Wojcicki recently said that the local advertising market now receives most of her attention.
Wojcicki told Spencer Ante yesterday, "That is my biggest focus." Which means a significant number of Googlers have probably been assigned to the subject, since Wojcicki was named a senior vice president in October. (Only eight other people hold that title at Google.)
Wojcicki also said, "How can we enable you, when you’re walking around, to find out the best local offers around? As an advertiser, how can I find out if someone saw my ad and went to a store? The local market is a huge market, we’ve always wanted to be in it."
As a result, Google may make some acquisitions in order to advance its expertise in this area. Or it might reach out to small business owners more than ever in an attempt to win their cooperation.
We should point out that former vice president of search products and user experience Marissa Mayer was recently asked to supervise Google’s products and services related to local markets and geolocation, further emphasizing the company’s focus on this field.