Signaling its intent to move beyond the search text ads that have made it so powerful, Google says branding ads are going to become more important to its business, writes AdWeek.

"We're talking to advertisers about using Google for all of our advertising incentives, not just text search," Google CEO Eric Schmidt is quoted as having said in a conference call to announce the company's quarterly earnings.

Google is already using its AdSense publisher network to deliver graphic-rich and video ads for Procter & Gamble, Volvo and others. Advertisers have the option, within their AdWords accounts, to decide on which sites to display those branded ads - which still account for a tiny fraction of Google's ad income.

Schmidt also commented on both mobile advertising and the future of YouTube, saying mobile ads are in their infancy and won't become a major source of business until 2008. Schmidt also says he doubts pre-roll ads would come to YouTube because they create a sub-standard user experience.