Google Taking Advertising to the Street—The Virtual Street

Google to Sell Ads Within Billboard Space in Google Map’s Street View

Google has done it again.  In a world that is becoming more and more virtual every day, Google is setting the trend.  Releasing their new patented technology, Google will soon able to sell billboard ad space in Google’s Street View maps.  The Google Street View maps feature was launched in 2007 which allows a 360 degree view from the streets throughout the world.  Any billboards that are viewed in this program will be sold as ad space, taking online advertising to the next level.

Google’s Virtual World Advertising Progression

Google has been innovative in advertising in the virtual world for some time now.  Every step of the way it has become just a little more advanced.  First, in early 2006 they placed ads on Google Local Maps.  Second, Google introduced AdSense to its maps in May 2007.  Third, Google felt the importance to acquire an in-game advertising firm which purchases ads inside of video games.  Now, with Google Street View, Google has taken the next step in advertising technology.

How Will Google’s Virtual Ads Work?

The new patented technology will analyze the geographic view within Google Maps, and identify which “virtual properties” are available to host advertisements.  From there, it is similar to a Google Adwords bidding model, where bids will be placed on acquiring points of interest desirable to the advertiser.  Google will then place the ad of the highest bidder on the virtual billboard space.

Benefits to Google’s Virtual Advertising

Google’s virtual ads will be text, picture, or video ads.  It essentially will be taking a large fraction of the content network and duplicating it out to a physical version.  Google is taking the in-game advertising idea, which by 2012 is estimated to be a billion dollar industry, and applying it to the next level within Google Maps. It will be interesting to see how this plays out and if it will be a sustainable advertising model in the future.

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Sources:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_could_soon_augment_old_billboards_in_street.php
http://www.geek.com/articles/google/google-street-view-may-use-billboards-for-current-advertisements-20100119/