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Yahoo & Google Testing Pay-Per-Call Ads

Posted by Zonk on from the do-i-get-money dept.

khundeck writes "'Internet giants Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. are testing a new form of online advertising that encourages people to pick up the phone rather than click on a link, lending credibility to the 'pay-per-call' ad model.'" From the article: "Google is testing a variant in which users click on a phone icon and type their number into a box. Google then dials the user, who hears ringing until the merchant answers. Google says the service is free for callers even on long-distance calls, and it promises not to divulge the caller's number to anyone."

5 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Hmm... by Bun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Google says the service is free for callers even on long-distance calls, and it promises not to divulge the caller's number to anyone.

    That seems pretty empty to me. They will still have the information. If they promised to not keep a record of the caller's number, I'd feel better about it.

    --
    "Anyone that has ever gotten an idea based on any of my work and done something better with it-good for you."--J.Carmack
  2. Who says I have to use my own number? by canadiangoose · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sounds like a great way to prank-call someone at all hours of the day. Heck, you could even prank-call people from your desk at work all without picking up the phone.

    --
    Never eat more than you can lift -- Miss Piggy
    1. Re:Who says I have to use my own number? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      When I worked at dynamicsoft (now Cisco) we wrote an app that would conference two totally random individuals at a time. With one click of the button, two phones would ring and each person would insist that the other had called them. It was very fun to watch.

      Its even better when you anonymously schedule it to call people at 6am.

  3. in... by kirkb · · Score: 4, Funny

    In Soviet Russia, ads click you? (sorry)

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    Slashdot: come for the pedantry, stay for the condescension.
  4. They DO delete your number... by KingSkippus · · Score: 4, Informative

    From Google's FAQ about the service:

    When you're connected with the advertiser, your number is blocked so the advertiser can't see it. In addition, we'll delete the number from our servers after a short period of time.

    I guess you could always argue that a "short period of time" isn't good enough, or simply choose not to believe Google, but that statement is a heck of a lot better than you'd get from anyone else, I think.

    Google has a good reputation; call me gullible, but given their history, I'm willing to believe that they're doing this to make revenue from the advertisers, not from selling your personal information.