To understand if Google Offers is right for your business, compare it to the other locally optimized "deal" sites out there, like Groupon, Daily Deals. These sites have gained millions of followers - but are they actually good for the businesses that advertise on them?

• It"s true, for instance, that a Groupon promotion can net tons of hits and even drive purchases, but 50 percent of that cut goes to Groupon. So unless your product or service reaches a critical mass, you may be undercutting your profits.

• Companies that artificially inflate their "deal" prices to turn a Groupon profit are eventually found out, undermining their credibility.

• If you are actively engaged in inbound marketing, a deal site may compromise your website"s performance in drawing in new leads - that"s because the click-throughs are generated through the deal site, not your website.

• Finally, a one-time deal often reflects the customer behavior going forward; that is, they stick around only for the deal and once that ends, so does your relationship.
Going with Google
The recently launched Google Offers delivers deals a slightly different way.

• Like Groupon, Google Offers lets you set up an account to run a promotion, but all the profit goes to you - not to Google.

• Your agreement with Google Offers includes a minimum of 50 offers, which you can promote over the course of one month, three months or one year. This policy helps eliminate "fly by night" vendors or businesses that cannot support high volumes of purchase traffic.

• The service is careful about what they approve for promotion; you must show that you"re offering an actual deal and not an arbitrary percent-off figure based on inflating your regular price.

• The site also monitors its promotions carefully, prohibiting deals for gambling establishments, sexually suggestive goods and services, fireworks and other items. (Groupon learned this lesson the hard way, after being flagged in 2011