Google Maps to be plastered with ads

[Whitey]

In the coming weeks Google will put logos for fast food chains, coffee shops, hotels and travel agents on its popular maps site.

Its rival, Telstra, is going a step further and is planning to serve up ads based on destinations people are searching for in its mapping product.

[smh.com.au...]

No doubt Bing has the same in mind. I wonder if there are plans to push advertising throught the API and on what terms and how publishers will be affected.

[Silvery]

It appears that this is going to expand out the icons use in Austrialia on Google Maps, but it's not clear that they necessarily intend to do this in the United States.

The've already had really extensive sponsor icons in Japan maps, but fewer sponsor icons appearing on U.S. maps.

Perhaps they're trying to master it in a foreign market before expanding it out in the U.S.?

[SEOMike]

I don't know if Telstra is actually taking it a step further by presenting location based ads. There are already ads in Google maps. Searching for "Dallas Texas" will show an ad or two and when search for something like "dallas texas restaurant" you'll at least three ads per page as well as user-submitted photos of some locations.