According to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple is once again considering monetizing its Maps app with search ads. The company already does this with its News and Stocks apps. The goal is to boost its in-house advertising business.
This isn’t the first time Apple has looked into this idea. Gurman reports that Apple looked into integrated search ads a couple years ago, where companies could pay for more favorable search ranking:
A few years ago, Apple employees explored integrating search ads into its Maps apps. It would work similarly to Google Maps, where a business could pay Apple to have their restaurant or venue appear higher in search results.
Now, the idea is back in Apple’s mind. In a recent hands on meeting, the idea of monetization being explored came up once again, specifically with search ads. Gurman also floats the idea of certain locations appearing ‘more prominently on the map.’
Top comment by AppleDev
If they want to do a free iCloud tier that is ad supported in various apps, I would be fine with that. I’m not a fan of ads in Apple core services. I feel ads cheapen the platform. Particularly since most of us are already paying monthly fees for Apple services. I think ads work against discovery, editorial, and merit based promotion of apps and services.
I’d be fine with ad placement over the Gulf of Mexico.
There isn’t any timeline for when search ads for Apple Maps may roll out. Engineering for such an effort hasn’t even begun yet. However, the company is certainly planning how they might approach such a change.
What do you think about search ads coming to the Apple Maps app? Let us know in the comments.
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