CASPER
New member
Online coupon service Groupon has hired a Google Inc executive to be its new chief operating officer, as Google began rolling out a new service aimed directly at Groupon's thriving business.
The hiring and roll-out come as Groupon and Google increasingly go head-to-head in the vast market for local advertising, with each company pitching its online marketing services to small businesses such a restaurants and nail salons.
Google, the world's No. 1 Internet search engine, tried to acquire Groupon for $6 billion in December, but was rebuffed, according to a source familiar with the matter.
On Thursday, Google began running ads on several websites inviting consumers in Portland, Oregon, to sign up for a new service dubbed Google Offers.
The hiring and roll-out come as Groupon and Google increasingly go head-to-head in the vast market for local advertising, with each company pitching its online marketing services to small businesses such a restaurants and nail salons.
Google, the world's No. 1 Internet search engine, tried to acquire Groupon for $6 billion in December, but was rebuffed, according to a source familiar with the matter.
On Thursday, Google began running ads on several websites inviting consumers in Portland, Oregon, to sign up for a new service dubbed Google Offers.
