Google To Start Charging Businesses When Users Click On Directions In Ads

Searching for a restaurant on Google will often result in a listing that shows the restaurant, its address, and phone number, as well as directions to the location.

Now, when users click to get directions, Google will start charging businesses for those clicks. Google already charges businesses for clicking on headlines, or phone numbers listed. Directions appear as a link within ads, as well as in a "Get directions using Google Maps?" pop-up in mobile ads.

"If your campaign has a high number of these clicks, this indicates that your customers are interacting with your ads to get directions to your business," the post said.

If companies don't want to pay for these clicks, they must remove the location extension entirely. But, Google says, "location extensions provide valuable information to local customers about your business, so we encourage you to carefully analyze your campaign performance before doing so." Google has posted a FAQ here.