Google is rolling out more ads to its popular Maps service opening up another major channel for location-based marketing.
Bloomberg reports that Google intends to add sponsored listings from businesses that have paid to rank atbthe top of Google Maps results when you search for a variety of information, such nearby restaurants.
Since Maps launched 14 years ago, it has been an ads-free platform but company executives have suggested recently that they may let advertisers reach Map users.
Google has now raised prices for businesses and other tech companies that license the Google Maps location infrastructure.
Additonally, the platform has much more prominent in-app sponsorships available now and shows paid listings for nearby or on-the-way locations while users are navigating a trip.
Google’s search business is still bringing in revenues but it now has competitors like Amazon. The top searches on Google are already filled with ads, but Maps is an untouched territory for Google to monetise on the back of its giant user base.