Is Apple looking for more ways to generate ad revenue? And could it involve local ads? New details uncovered by prolific Apple Sleuth Mark Gurman suggest ‘yes’ to both questions. Of course, with all things Apple, we’re left with speculation as the company is tight-lipped about anything in development.
That said, let’s pull on that speculative thread and game out some possibilities. Gurman specifically notes that Apple is playing with the idea of placing location-relevant ads for local businesses in Apple Maps. This could be similar to local ads seen in Google Maps, such as promoted pins and search results.
This would also extend from Apple’s moves over the past few years to establish SMB relationships in Apple Maps. Specifically, Apple Business Connect lets local businesses register to help maintain, optimize, and update their business listings; and to have some control over how they show up in Maps.
When covering those moves over the past few years, we’ve speculated that they could represent the first few steps towards what could later: Maps monetization. The idea at the time was for SMB advertising and promotion. So here we are facing that possibility… but again, nothing is certain in Apple world.
Hypothetical Levels
Staying on hypothetical levels, if Apple were to do this, what would it mean? First, it’s a potentially large revenue stream for Apple, given Apple Maps’ advantages and sizable installed base. As we’ve asserted when covering Apple Business Connect, SMBs can’t ignore the sheer scale of Apple Maps.
That argument was in the context of SMBs taking the time to register and update their business profiles. A similar but elevated criterion would determine if they’re willing to devote ad budget to Apple Maps. That remains to be seen, however Apple Maps’ default positioning on billions of iThings is attractive.
If Gurman ends up being right, a common pattern in local media and marketing would likely follow. National brands with local interests – such as multi-location businesses – would adopt Apple Maps advertising (mapvertising) first. Their marketing departments are generally more savvy and capable than SMBs.
The SMB long tail could follow, but it would be a question – as always – of ad sales and execution. Some would execute directly, while others would work through agencies and/or local advertising platforms. The latter have already been all over Apple Business Connect in terms of integrating it with their dashboards.
For example, in the wake of Apple Business Connect’s launch, companies from Yext to Soci were quick to integrate its API to ensure their platforms synced local business data to Apple Maps. If Apple launches Mapvertising, we’ll similarly see rapid integration across local marketing platforms that offer paid search.
Setting the Table
As for Apple, there are key cost/benefit considerations. Apple has always positioned apps like Maps as ad-free zones. These are essentially loss leaders, rather than revenue centers, to differentiate the iOS ecosystem and push you one step closer to choosing an iPhone over an Android device.
Opening the floodgates and letting ads flow in would come with some attrition to user satisfaction. So Apple is likely to be evaluating, among other things, if that cost exceeds direct revenue potential. Apple doesn’t take these decisions lightly if they involve risking quality in its core product.
That’s why you don’t see ads in many places in the iOS universe. After retracted efforts to build an ad business (e.g., iAd) we now see ads in limited places that are arguably in context. For example, the biggest venue for ads is app download ads in the App Store. That’s a place where ads make sense.
Similar could be argued for Apple Maps in that there’s a fair amount of commercial intent for mapping users. Just like you go into the app store looking for apps, you go into Apple Maps looking for local businesses. Of course, there are prevalent exceptions like just wanting to get from point A to B.
In any case, when we hear this rumor, the knee-jerk reaction is that it makes sense. It passes the sniff test as Apple has already set the table with Apple Business Connect, as noted. We’ll have to wait to see what Apple does here… along with Apple Intelligence and other wait-and-see Apple machinations.
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