Cue the Google Video Ads

As expected, Google’s begun letting businesses based in the United States, Canada and Japan place video advertisements on Internet sites.

Businesses are more apt than ever before to try an Internet video ad, so this is a natural step for Google and any other company that earns its keep selling ads.

In so doing, Google’s going after a larger share of the $13.8 billion expected to spent this year on Internet advertising.

“You may say, video is only for big branding-oriented advertisers,” a Google AdWords team member wrote on the Google AdWords blog. “We beg to differ. This feature makes video ads much more accessible to all advertisers.”

As Google explained May 23, Google’s new “click-to-play” ads are each up to 2 minutes long and user-initiated, meaning someone must first click on the ad for the video to start. Video ads hosted by other Web entities usually start playing automatically.

The click-to-play approach is “to protect the user experience,” a Google spokesperson explained in an e-mailed statement.

The video ads will be bought and paid for using an auction system, a la Google’s AdWords feature.

Google says it won’t yet allow video ads to appear on its own sites.

In a way, Google signaled today’s events when it purchased a 5 percent share of America Online. At the time, Google hinted that AOL’s flashier advertising style (which includes videos) would one day become a practice at Google.