Google Inc. is gearing up to launch a beta of its Audio Ads service, which plans to bring Google's targeting advertising to the radio industry.

In January, Google acquired dMarc Broadcasting, Inc., a digital solutions provider for the radio broadcast industry. [link 7854] dMarc connects advertisers directly to radio stations through its automated advertising platform. It is not known how much of the dMarc technology will be incorporated into Google Audio Ads.

Currently, Google has a live Google Audio Ads page but at press time the page was unable to load.

According to Reuters, the radio industry is worth approximately $20 billion.

"Radio is the next logical component to the Google Adwords Mix and will fortify their position as not only the top advertising network in the online world, but perhaps offline as well," reports Search Engine Journal.