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Google Files Patent for Internet-Connected Billboards

Google’s ad expansion into the physical world looks as though it won’t end with print, radio and TV.

The company has reportedly filed for a patent that will allow them to build kiosk-type billboards, ATM machines, and other types of mall advertising that would be connected to the internet, writes Trendhunter (via Adrants).

One use for such billboards would be to allow local stores to advertise products that are currently in stock. Advertisers will be able to purchase space on the billboards by logging into a system online.

In the patent application itself, Google wrote that its technology could eliminate the need for the manual loading of looped ads. Merchants could create campaigns for available goods and services, the ads would be displayed in rotation, and could be shut off automatically when a product is sold out, writes ClickZ. Currently, ads on digital screens are limited to looped advertisements.

The patent, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, explains that, “Advertisers may upload advertisement messages to a server specifying information such as budget, price per impression, preferred billboards and/or other constraints. One or more keywords or other descriptors are specified for each advertisement message.

Google has recently expanded its online empire to include the sale of newspaper and radio ads. Inventory for Google Print and Google Audio are also sold online.