Google adds ads to Picasa photo site
Google has begun showing ads on search results at its Picasa site for sharing photos, part of its gradual expansion of advertising across its numerous Web properties.
Pages for photos and galleries doesn't show ads, but search results do for some people. The ads are located in a yellow-tinted "sponsored links" section above the photo results for some in the United States. (See screenshot below.)
"As part of our ongoing commitment to innovation, and to help users find new and better ways of getting the information they're looking for, we are currently showing text ads on the search results pages for Picasa Web Albums. This experiment is only visible to a small number of U.S.-based users," the company said in a statement. The ad experiment has been running for "a few weeks," Google said.
Google, trying to increase profitability, has been spreading ads to sites that previously lacked them. Among them: Google Finance, Google News, image search, Google Maps, and Google Earth.
Google is showing ads on search results at its Picasa photo-sharing site. (Click to enlarge.)
(Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)(Via the unofficial Google Operating System blog.)
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank. 
"As part of our ongoing commitment to innovation, and to help users find new and better ways of getting the information they're looking for..."
Don't you just love the spin ... why not say "to help pay for this service .." and be honest for a change!
- by Biggnaa20 April 6, 2009 7:47 PM PDT
- This should have been expected. This is how Google makes money. This is why they provide cool products for us to use.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(7 Comments)There would be no Gmail. There would be no Youtube. There would be no Docs or Calendar or anything else. Ads will come to Android as well.
While Sergey and Larry might really just want to catalog the world for us (or for their new world order) they will do it for cash. And they do that with Ads.
And just for you all's edification, other formerly free photo sites are starting to charge (case in point: Kodakgallery.com). I personally would prefer seeing some Googlesque ads than be forced to pay or lose my albums.