Embeds Return To New Google Maps, Will Soon Include Ads

Google has quietly brought back embeds to its new Google Maps interface today and announced that it plans to include ads in these embedded maps in the coming weeks.

When Google launched the new version of its online mapping service, it introduced a new look, more personalized maps and a slew of other features, but it also left out things like easy access to Streetview and the ability to take a map and embed it elsewhere. Earlier this month, Google brought back Pegman to make Street View more accessible and today, it’s reintroducing embeds, too.

The feature is now available again to everybody who has opted in to using the new Google Maps. Just zoom in to the area you want to embed, look for the gear icon in the bottom-left corner and click on “embed map.” From there, you just choose the size of your embed (small, medium, large or custom), copy and paste the HTML snippet and you’re done.

As Google notes, these embedded maps will be customized for each individual user, just like the main Google Maps experience (assuming they are logged in). Unlike the regular Google Maps, though, these embeds don’t feature the advanced 3D view that Google introduced earlier this year. Users are limited to a top-down satellite view and the regular maps view.

Google didn’t say much about the new ad experience for embedded maps besides announcing that it’s coming in a few weeks. According to Google Maps API product manager Ken Hoetmer, the “new on-map design will allow relevant local businesses to connect with your users.” These ads, he writes, will be “similar to the ads you currently see in the new Google Maps and Google Maps for Mobile.”

To prepare for this launch, Google has updated the Google Maps/Google Earth API Terms of Service, so it will be able to insert these ads in maps. While today’s post focuses on embeds and developers who use the Google Maps API, chances are we will also see these new ads in the standard Google Maps interface in the near future.