Google buys mobile display ad firm AdMob

Google has bought the mobile display advertising firm AdMob, the companies announced on Monday.

The acquisition, for $750m (£449m) in stock, will "enhance Google's existing expertise and technology in mobile advertising, while also giving advertisers and publishers more choice in this growing new area", the search giant said in a statement.

"Mobile advertising has enormous potential as a marketing medium and while this industry is still in the early stages of development, AdMob has already made exceptional progress in a very short time," Google product management chief Susan Wojcicki said.

Google said it intended to use AdMob's technology to creating, serve and analyse mobile advertising formats and make mobile advertising relevant to end users.

The company has made great strides in the mobile market over the last few years, first by offering its services through the iPhone and other smartphones, and then by launching its own open-source mobile software platform, Android.

Google's services, which include Google Maps and local search, are generally offered through handsets that incorporate GPS and, by their nature as mobile phones, location-awareness through the mobile network itself. This functionality makes it possible to target advertising at the user based on where they are at the time.

The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Blyk tried to offer UK users free phone calls and text messages if they accepted on-screen advertising, but the idea did not gain significant traction and Blyk's technology was sold to Orange earlier this year.