• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, August 9, 2013

Mobile users gained new appreciation for Google Maps in the wake of Apple replacing it with its own buggy mapping service in iOS 6 last year. Now Google is capitalizing on its break with Apple by introducing new ads in its Maps app.

“To show ads on the Google Maps app, advertisers need to add location extensions to their search campaigns or create an ad with AdWords Express,” stated a blog post by Salahuddin Choudhary, product manager, Google Maps.

In addition to the “get location details” click, advertisers will also be charged for clicks to get directions, click-to-call and clicks on the ad headline. But AdWords will only charge for up to two paid clicks per impressions, with reporting for these actions found by segmenting account reports by “click type,” according to the post.

When users perform a search in Google Maps, they may now see a banner ad appear at the bottom of the screen featuring a title, ad text and a link to get directions. Users can then tap or swipe upward to get more information, such as address, phone number, photos and reviews in an expanded view. Google said this is a new click type called “Get location details” and carries a standard cost-per-click (CPC) charge.

After getting location details, users can take other actions, such as saving business information for later, sharing a business with a friend, or launching the navigation capability.

The ads rollout comes a month after the latest version of Google Maps debuted for Android and iOS devices, adding new features including Explore, allowing users to simply tap the search box to bring up buttons for categories like Eat, Drink, Shop, Play and Sleep. It also extended Google’s Zagat content to search results.

As Google builds out the app, the inclusion of display ads is a natural progression for the search giant and follows efforts by local search rivals like Yelp and Foursquare to ramp up advertising in their own apps. Yelp launched ads in its app at the end of last year, and the company said recently that 40% of all its local search ads now appear on mobile devices.

For its part, Foursquare in July opened up its self-serve ad platform to small- and medium-sized businesses after testing the system in recent months with a small group of New York City merchants. Facebook is also increasingly courting local businesses, which now advertise on the social network in twice the numbers they did a year ago.

Spending on local mobile advertising in the U.S. will nearly double this year to $2.3 billion from $.1.2 billion in 2012, and will reach $9 billion in 2017, according to a forecast by local media research firm BIA/Kelsey. Local will make up an estimated 38% of total U.S. mobile ad spending, projected at $5.4 billion this year.