Google Street View has been added to so many real estate websites by now that it’s almost an expected part of the listing landscape. But there could be a change on the Street View horizon.
A report from cnet.com explains that Google previously floated the idea of ads appearing in Street View that are tied to the listings in its Local Business Centre and Favourite Places program (click here for a full run-down of those Google offerings).
What makes it seem like more than an idea is Google’s recent filing of a patent application titled “Claiming Real Estate in Panoramic or 3D Mapping Environments for Advertising”. In other words, we could soon see something akin to virtual billboards appearing in a Street View image as users browse through an area.
Of course, this might sound like an extremely bad idea – a sure-fire way to turn people off Street View altogether. But searchengineland.com’s Greg Sterling remains optimistic. “Google will very carefully align what it perceives to be relevant ads with consumer queries and interests,” he says.
In the world of online advertising, this could open up a huge new advertising space. Much like the Augmented Reality applications developed by websites such as trulia.com, Street View could become a source of leads in itself. But exactly how this will all play out remains to be seen.
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