(FlickrCC/James Temple) Niketown London. Google says it has mapped "tens of thousands of stores" in the UK in an effort to link its online ads to driving in-store purchases. Google first announced its "Store Visits" product within AdWords — its search advertising platform — in late 2014. It rolled out to the UK in the summer of last year. The analytics tool determines whether a person who clicked on an ad went on to visit a store, using data from Google Maps users on Android and Apple devices who have their location history switched on. The user's unique Google ID links the visit with an ad that has previously been served or clicked. Google aggregates and anonymizes the data so advertisers don't know that a specific customer visited a particular location, but they can extrapolate whether their search advertising is lifting in-store sales in a meaningful way. "Mapping" stores involves ensuring each retailer's Google Maps location is highly accurate, so it can pinpoint when a user actually entered the store (rather than stopping outside for a moment or visiting the store next-door.) (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images) Google UK and Ireland managing director speaking at Advertising Week Europe 2016. Speaking to Business Insider at Advertising Week Europe in London on Monday, Google UK and Ireland managing director Eileen Naughton said it was encouraging how many retailers were already using the product. She said: "We work hard to build tools that marketers use that actually drive respectful interactions with consumers because we've seen research show again and again that customers will allow you in if you bring them information — it could be an ad that's relevant — that's useful, helpful, and information. And if they calibrate their marketing communications well using [some of Google's] tools, they actually can bring more and more value to the consumer without being seen as intrusive." Speaking earlier on stage at Advertising Week Europe, Naughton said automaker Hyundai used Google's Store Visits tool to attribute 4.9% of clicks on its paid mobile advertising to visits to its dealerships — a 1,700% return on investment. "Good players have 70-80% of their search investment containing some form of data layer," she added. Over time, Naughton told Business Insider she expects Google to move from just offering in-store tools that determine after the fact whether someone has visited, to "dynamic ads being served [in-store] and prompting decisions." NOW WATCH: Here’s why airlines ask you to raise the window shades for takeoffs and landings More From Business Insider
Google claims that it has mapped " tens of thousands " of UK retailers in efforts to link online ads to in-store sales. Using its AdWords “Store Visits” analytics tool, which draws on anonymised and aggregated Eileen Naughton and GPS location data from GPS and UK devices, direct correlations between ad-clicking and store visits were determined by linking users’ unique Google IDs with store visits from ads that had previously been served or clicked. Speaking at this week ’s Advertising Week Europe 2016 , Eileen Naughton , managing director of Google UK and Ireland , recommended that " 70-80% of [a company’s] search investment contain some form of data layer," especially after Hyundai ’s recent use of Google ’s Store Visits resulted in a 70-80% return on investment.