A Google Gadget as a PPC ad could be interesting - very interesting - and converting (if you into conversion rates) with a little imagination and Art mixed in.  By the way, Steve Rubel of Micro Persuasion just weighed in and he's noticed the signficance of this development too, two months ago - he called it Widgetsense Rising.

"..Google is running an advertising test with Lab Pixies. The recent ads promoting Gmail were basically embedded widgets. In the next 12 months we're going to see a lot more rich content put inside ad tiles. Given Google's prowess in contextually placing ads near content it seems to me as though they could easily work with advertisers to create rich widgets that show up in the right places at the right time - e.g. Widgetsense, Adsense for widgets. They also could acquire Lab Pixies."

Yesterday, Steve Rubel said his vision happened - Google Widgetsense is a Reality 

 "..Widgets embedded in Adsense isn't just an idea. According to Niall Kennedy, its a reality.

Niall reports that soon webmasters will be able to auction off widget space on their sites and blogs managed and marketed by Google. Advertisers can produce Gadgets in standard ad sizes for distribution across the Google network."

I think the idea of a Google Gadget of something interesting and unique relating to advertiser might really help - I mean, Google gives you the API and you program your own Gadget - not one of the pre-canned ones that you download (that others have created).

According to Google Operating System:

"…In February, Google started to test an interesting ad for Gmail that was actually a Google gadget. Now MediaPost reports that Google will allow everyone to advertise in the content network using gadgets. "Although Google executives revealed the beta during a marketing summit for the auto industry, the Gadget Ads will be available to all ad categories by this summer's planned launch."

The gadgets can already be added to iGoogle, Google Desktop and any web page. Their main advantage is they're interactive and content-rich, while being easy to code. Google offers libraries that let you get data from feeds, add tabs, drag & drop and localize a gadget.

I see. 

So the next stage of Advertising Effectiveness is going to require some programming and more creativity.   I think we're maxed out keyword ads getting people all excited and ready to buy. 

Keywords, while important for advertising - have been diluted by all the rich media possibilities we now have at our disposal now, and with the overuse (hype) of keyword advertising over the last 3 or 4 years - I think it's a waste of money for most businesses (unless done right). 

People no longer respond, that much, in my opinion, to keywords in an ad (unless they're really desperate … like I need this thing (with the keywords in it) right now.  

But there's only so much of that kind of customer out there at any one time - and with all the competition of advertisers, keyword advertising is becoming less and less effective.

Let's stretch our imaginations and think about interesting Google Gadgets that an advertiser could offer their audiences that might lead them to want to come to the advertiser's site and maybe, convert (buy something - sign up for something).

According to Google, all you need to start coding a Google Gadget is some basic HTML knowledge (more than many advertisers have - but they can hire people to do coding for Gadgets if they want).  There's even a scratchpad on this page you  can test your own code:

"…The Google Gadgets API consists of a few simple building blocks: XML, HTML, and JavaScript. To get started, all you need is a basic understanding of HTML. We will teach you all you need to know about XML to write gadgets. Later, as you write more sophisticated gadgets, you will probably want to learn some JavaScript if you're not familiar with it already. "

OK, let's take some of my clients and, generally speaking, talk about the kind of Gadget's they could write and advertise on Google's Content Network.

• Alan Mascord: The easiest thing would be to make buying Mascord Living Spaces a Google Gadget so you don't even need to go to Mascord's site to buy the magazine.   I'm not too sure how that would work.   A more interesting application is a Google Gadget that allows you to enter a zip-code and how much money you have to spend to build a plan and then, in the Gadget, shows you a slide show of the houses you can build.   Now that would be interesting ….. and if you see something you like - you click on the image and end up at the site, on the buy page for that plan.  But there could also be a "Gadget" on all the buy pages for Mascord that lets visitors look at other plans in the same way - or suggests that if you like plan 1101, you might like, and be able to build plan 2232, etc.
• Acisco.com - I have had this client for over 3 years and I don't have any idea if they'd go for this kind of approach but they also have a chair site and it might work better for chairs than building services: You could have a Gadget that asks you if you have "back pain" and where …and then it shows you the chairs that are in stock (you can select the colors, etc) and if your interested - it takes you to the buy page for that chair.
• DooleyVacations -  They're a travel site for Ireland and Scotland Vacations - they could/should do Google Gadgets that ask you if you want to go to Ireland or Scotland, put in a data, and show the cheapest price.  If you like what you see you go onto the site and start booking.

None of these ideas is actually that exotic, or even imaginative - they do require a shift though…. because the medium of online advertising is evolving rapidly, as are people's expectations of Search Engines and Online Advertising
. 

In fact, a Google Gadget that supplies some of this information along with an SURL for a Second Life environment where you can experience the ad, might be one way to integrate Online Advertising and Second Life (or other 3D Virtual Worlds) 

We've entered a new stage of online advertising where just sticking up a PPC ad is not going to cut it anymore - that's my point….the handwriting is on the wall.

Let's take it up a notch and project ourselves in the future by one year.  In one year - you could actually find people that are experts in coding Google Gadgets and are sought after just for that - or companies that specialize of tying in backend databases with a Google Gadget ad. 

Meanwhile, Google decides to not only go full blown with Google Gadgets, but also creates API's for Social Media networking (which it is kinda moving towards doing now) and allows you to embed the Gadgets all over your site and expands the capabilities.   If you know that today…… that in one year, that's where advertising would be and part of where Google would be doing  …… including all the other things that Google will tie into those Gadget tools - how would that change your plans about what your planning to spend your time and energy in the next year??

… Even if Google doesn't do it exactly the way I mentioned - they will do it eventually - it's more, or less, on Google's trajectory and at this point - there's no stopping Google. 

Google is on a  quest to marry the search engine to everything - to most people's benefit - and they're going to do what they have to play in any area they think they can improve with their technology.

So take it as a Saturday Tip from me - start thinking - stretching - into the future and look at what is happening with Google Gadgets and don't wait till everyone else does it before you - catch the wave as it's building up, as it's coming in - Surf the wave by being ready for it, that way, you have momentum.