It was only a matter of time before Google decided to monetize via the Google Maps iPhone application and that time is now. Users viewing maps will now begin to see advertisements for local businesses popping up on the maps their viewing.
The screenshot on this page was taken from a MobileCrunch search and shows a fancy Sushi restaurant when searching for “Sushi New York.”
Based on our own searching the ads seem to work off of the category being browsed and are geo-targeted, which actually doesn’t seem like a bad way to find info you may have otherwise missed in your area.
Given the addition of ads it also now makes more sense to us as to why Apple recently chose to announce plans for their own mapping software.
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