We got a tip from Anthony Avolio yesterday, who pointed out that Google was showing ads on Maps on the iPhone. Until then I hadn’t noticed it. This is another way in which Google seems to be aligning the mobile experience with that on the PC.

I asked earlier on my blog “Who Owns Maps on the iPhone?” because the Google Maps app is like quasi-”public property” given that it is used by so many other apps and is the “official” mapping tool for the device. Yet the ads are pretty unobtrusive:

One person suggested to me that Apple might be sharing in the click revenue generated through the app. However I would be quite skeptical of that. I also wonder whether Apple has an opinion about it or is indifferent to Google doing this.

There are a number of people who believe that it’s now just a matter of time before Apple introduces its own substitute maps for the iPhone, but that very much remains to be seen.

Related Topics: Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile

About The Author: Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog Screenwerk, about SoLoMo issues and connecting the dots between online and offline. He also posts at Internet2Go, which is focused on the mobile Internet. Follow him @gsterling. See more articles by Greg Sterling

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