We might have known that it would only be a matter of time before the ubiquitous Google AdSense machine started to tie in to the mobile applications market. As everyone expected, there has been an incredible amount of interest for smartphone applications, and it seems that there’s no limit in sight. Downloadable applications proliferate for Apple iPhone and Android platforms.
Google is currently pushing into the mobile ad market, as they’ve recently been testing text and graphical ads in a private beta form. The Internet giant has dramatically increased its field testing and is now exploring contextual ads for each platform. According to Google the ads can be targeted by “applications, locations, categories or keywords.”
Program developers can insert a snippet of code within their applications, allowing iPhone and Android powered handsets to display ads. This links the application with the Google ad network and paves the way for significant earning potential in the future.
One of the main difficulties associated with the current method is, as usual, getting past the common consumer “ad resistance”. Harold Steinberg, director of business development for Urbanspoon (one of Google’s startup development partners in the venture) concurs. “What we are looking for… is to allow the user to look at the whole application as one and not say, “oh, that’s an ad, I’m not going to pay attention to it.”” If the ad is successfully integrated within the application there is more chance that the consumer will interact with it thus allowing the application developer and Google to make money.
While Google is keeping a lid on things at the moment, and only proceeding in beta with a small group of highly qualified partners, it has (as always) a distinct advantage in this marketplace. At some point, Google will open up and allow marketers to choose mobile applications as part of their personal AdSense campaigns, and when they do, bidding will rise significantly and ad rates will likely sky rocket.
As the smart phone market continues to see incredible growth – and the future looks particularly bright, you can expect there to be world wide interest in this platform and unprecedented earnings potential up for grabs. Mobile application usage is expected to quadruple in five years and Google is perhaps banking on the fact that those eyeballs will be drawn to mobile AdSense.
Adam Toren, Co-Founder of Young Entrepreneur, specializes in maximising the profitability of failing businesses with his own unique ‘bottom line’ method. Adam, along with his brother, have established, bought and then sold on an assortment of companies in recent years. At present, they own and operate a very successful publishing company and variety of online businesses.
