Google Click to Call

A number of bloggers have reported that Google Click-to-Call service is now being tested on a number of web sites. When you click on the phone icon a box appears where you put in your phone number, Google calls the advertiser while blocking your caller ID info. The advertiser pays for the connection.

The system allows the advertiser to know which ads work. The total cost to the advertiser is cheaper than offering an 800 because the leads per ad is much higher.

The integration with Google Talk with be the next interesting event. Folks who want to post a free classified ad with Google Base and those who want to make a free Google Talk call will need to sign up for a free Google account. The number of folks who sign up for Google accounts is going to expand rapidly throughout 2006.