Widgets, which usually incorporate data, text, pictures and various software in small desktop apps, are what Google calls gadgets. Either way, Google users will now see ads within some widgets.
Gadget ads will include real-time data feeds, images, video and more, said the search company. They will run on Google’s content network, competing alongside text, image and video ads for placement.
They will be either cost-per-click or cost-per-impression and advertisers can choose to target their audiences with contextual, site, geographic or demographic options, Google said.
Gadget ads will be built on an open platform, so that anybody from individual advertisers to agencies to run them, without serving or hosting costs, said the company
Gadget ads is Google’s latest move to expand its advertising vehicles. It recently began video ads, mostly on its YouTube.com subsidiary. And it recently bought DoubleClick for $3.1bn, which will give it substantial assets in graphical advertising.
However, its 5-month-old deal with DoubleClick is currently being investigated by the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights for potential competitive and privacy risks. A hearing by the subcommittee is scheduled for September 27.
