Google is getting one step closer to dominating mobile contextual advertising much like it did on the traditional Web with the launch of a public beta for its new AdSense for mobile apps solution.
Aimed at providing both contextual and graphical ads for apps running on both the iPhone and Android platforms, AdSense for mobile apps is taking on niche mobile ad networks such as AdMob and Greystripe who have been serving up ads in mobile applications for quite some time now- AdMob, in particular, has done very well thus far.
The solution will work similar to Google’s other AdSense products and will display ads based on keywords, demographics and location. In addition, advertisers can also directly bid for placement in certain apps. The application developer can even determine the positioning and appearance of any ad displayed in their app, and can filter out any un-wanted ads if they desire.
At the moment, the public beta is limited to apps that garner a minimum of 100,000 daily pageviews, which is a small number of apps, but should be released to the masses shortly.
This is significant only because of the vast reach Google already has, as well as the fact that it will be easily integrated into Google’s other AdSense solutions. Although it’s separate now, when marketers can check mobile apps as part of their overall AdSense campaigns, there should be a lot more bidding for those mobile ad spots within iPhone and Android apps, which will also increase the bid amounts and make the overall task of advertising within mobile applications much more streamlined.
As it stands right now, Google already has more advertisers than any other startup that’s deemed their competition (AdMob), and the solution hasn’t even launched yet. With that kind of inventory integrated within Google’s already vast AdSense/AdWords networks, the launch will undoubtedly be a game-changer.
