Ads in Street View Could Bolster Google's Local Ad Offering

Google sure likes giving stuff away, most of its services are free for regular users, but it's not exactly out of the goodness of its hear, the ads it serves on most of them more than make up for the losses. And Google isn't done yet, it’s always looking for ways to get more ads to people while still being relevant to them. One service which has remained ad-free for now is Street View. This may change though as Google is at least contemplating the idea of advertising in the city imagery service, as Cnet reports.

The way Google envisions it is actually quite interesting and in line with what's been doing lately. Businesses which are listed in Google Local Business Center could show up on Street View in a similar way to Google Maps. The ads could be another option for small businesses which use Google's local advertising program and would be tied to their existing accounts.

Where this could really prove useful is on mobile devices where users could see shops or restaurants close to their location. The ads would merge two markets which Google is increasingly interested in, local and mobile advertising. Local ads are already big business and there is still a lot of room to grow in the area.

Google has been making some big moves in this market trying to lure in those who haven't done online advertising until now. One of the more interesting ones is the Favorite Places program in which the company has sent 100,000 small businesses in the US stickers, labeling them as a 'favorite place' on Google.

The interesting part is that the stickers all have a QR code enabling users to take out their smartphones and learn more about the business on the spot. This is the part that ties in with the mobile component and could also potentially be linked to Street View. So far, there aren't any actual plans to introduce ads in Street View, but Google is considering all its options.