On Tuesday, the search giant announced it would close its Print Ads service. The program launched in 2006 and was met with raised eyebrows because it meant Google, an online specialist, would be venturing into print. Print Ads allowed anyone with a Google AdWords account to buy advertising in the print editions of any newspaper that joined the program. AdWords is Google's online advertising platform.

While Print Ads started out with 50 newspaper partners, it now has more than 800, Google said.

Despite attracting those newspapers, many of which are desperate to find new ways to generate revenue, Print Ads apparently hasn't performed well. "While we hoped that Print Ads would create a new revenue stream for newspapers and produce more relevant advertising for consumers, the product has not created the impact that we -- or our partners -- wanted," Spencer Spinnell, director of Google Print Ads, wrote in a announcing the closure of the service.

Google plans to shut down the service on Feb. 28.

Spinnell said that a team at Google will continue to investigate new ways to help newspaper companies. That's despite the company's sometimes-uneasy relationship with the publishing industry. Some publishers, particularly in Europe, have accused Google of copyright theft for displaying snippets of their content on sites like Google News without permission.