Apple plans to begin showing search ads in its Maps app on the iPhone starting next year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"I believe the engineering work is already underway to launch search ads in the Apple Maps app, and we should begin to see it be implemented sometime next year," wrote Gurman, in the subscriber-only version of his "Power On" newsletter today.
Ads in the Apple Maps app would not be the traditional banner ads that you see on websites, but rather paid search results. For example, a fast food chain could pay Apple to appear near the top of the results when a user searches for "burgers" or "fries." Many similar apps already offer search ads, including Google Maps, Waze, and Yelp.
Apple already displays search ads in the App Store, allowing developers to pay to promote their apps to users who search for relevant keywords. Apple is also planning to show ads in the App Store's "Today" tab and in a new "You Might Also Like" section at the bottom of app listings, while banner ads are displayed in Apple's News and Stocks apps.
Last week, Gurman said Apple is planning to significantly expand its advertising business over time. In his newsletter, he said that Apple's advertising division is generating about $4 billion in revenue annually and that Apple's advertising chief Todd Teresi wants to increase that figure to at least $10 billion per year over time.
