Google is launching plenty of new features this week, and now they have even more.
As spotted by CNET, Google Maps are now sporting text ads below the map results. Check out this result for [copies near san francisco, ca]:
Like the snippets above emails in Gmail, these are one-line link and description ads appear on a green background with additional ads available via < and > buttons (because who doesn’t want to look at more ads?).
CNET reports that
The results vary according to what the user sees on the map; for example, searching for “notary Kansas City” shows no ad, but centering the map on Kansas City then searching for “notary” does. Likewise, “shoe store San Francisco” shows results but “shoe store” while looking at San Francisco doesn’t.
I’m guessing this has more to do with the keywords targeted by advertisers—using city names in keywords vs. geographic targeting on more generic keywords to find local business customers. What do you think?
And as if to try to best Google [mail] Goggles, another hilarity-inducing feature has been added to a Google property: audio preview on YouTube comments. As Matt Cutts notes, a recent xkcd comic inspired this invention:
Oh, if only it were that easy. . . .
What’s your favorite Google feature added this week?
Read more:
Google Premieres Text Ads in Maps; Audio Comment Preview in YouTube
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