Google (GOOG) is moving into the mobile ad market with AdSesne for mobile apps. Over the past few months, Google has been testing both text and graphical ads with ten mobile app developers, including Shazam and Urbanspoon. Today it is opening the private beta to more developers who meet certain criteria.
These are contextual ads for iPhone and Android apps. To qualify for the public beta, the apps must be free and generate at least 100,000 pageviews per day. The program is only for iPhone or Android apps. Developers must be ready to go live with the ads in four weeks and participate for three months.
Developers with 100,000 pageviews a day is still a limited set of the top free apps, but Google is serious about competing in this market. Mobile ad startups such as AdMob and Greystripe are now officially in Google’s direct line of fire.
