Google Australia Tests Ads in Maps Product

Google is set to introduce sponsored location ads on its Maps product in Australia, following successful implementation of the ads on its Japanese site. Reports suggests markets such as the U.S. and the U.K. may follow.

David Egan, general product manager at Google Australia, told the Sydney Morning Herald, “We get one million searches a year for railway stations. We’re trying to figure out what things people might want. It could be a coffee shop or it could be a McDonald’s.”

The ads themselves consist of a simple branded logo placed on map locations in major cities, such as Tokyo (above.) Current advertisers on the Japanese Maps site include KFC, 7-Eleven, and McDonalds, all of which seem logical candidates to be extended to the Australian market.