Google is obviously serious about mobile advertising, and is filing patents left and right with one common theme- location. We reported a while back that Google had developed a process — and filed a patent — for “sniffing” data packets sent and received by users utilizing location-based services in an attempt to come as close as possible to having what the carriers have- true user location data at all times for its subscribers.
Last Tuesday, Google was awarded a patent filed over six years ago related to using location for “targeting, setting a minimum price bid for an ad, offering performance analytics, and modifying the content of an ad,” as well. While broad, it covers all basis for Google’s plan for mobile advertising, even though most of what they describe is already being implemented by the company. Last week, for example, Google starting allowing users to modify their search results based on their location to show results nearby, and Google Buzz was launched using “location feeds” as well. Here’s what the patent states as part of its abstract;
The location information used to target and/or score ads may be, include, or define an area. The area may be defined by at least one geographic reference point (e.g., defined by latitude and longitude coordinates) and perhaps additional information. Thus, the area may be a circle defined by a geographic reference point and a radius, an ellipse defined by two geographic reference points and a distance sum, or a polygon defined by three or more geographic reference points, for example.
Its just yet another pawn in the game by both Google and Apple to dominate in the mobile advertising market each want so badly. When Google bought up AdMob, Apple fired right back with Quattro’s acquisition, and each are making move after move to help themselves compete stronger. While one would think that Google has the undoubted upper-hand, Apple’s sheer reach with its iPhone and the lock it has on the device from hardware to software to now advertising gives it a stronger position than even Google would like to admit.