Google has just launched a new ad service for localized mobile searches called Tags. For $25/month, business owners can include a little yellow tag that shows up on Google Maps searches, highlighting coupons, photos, videos, menus, reservations, websites, or driving directions. You can also place “Posts” as Tags, which are entirely freefrom, and business owners can change them whenever they want. It’s good news for business owners who want to be mobile-savvy, but it does mean our searches are going to get a little more cluttered with ads.
Tags are tied in with Places, which allows business owners to keep their business listings clean and informative, which in turn is becoming the foundation for location-based Buzz status updates by customers. From the looks of it, Tags only affect searches from the mobile web, but it’s only a matter of time before these ads find their way to the Google Maps for Mobile app.
AdMob, now owned by Google, has been toying with similar location-based advertising for a dating site in London, and although research shows geo-targeted ads have a lot of promise, the jury is still out on its success. Currently Tags is only active in California and a smattering of U.S. cities (Atlanta, Austin, Boulder, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, Washington DC); if you happen to be in any of the above, you can find more info at Google Tags.
[via LatLong]