• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 21, 2008

In a bid to accelerate its role in the burgeoning online video advertising marketplace, search giant Google this morning is announcing a slew of deals expanding its AdSense for video beta. To date, the AdSense program has focused mainly on enabling Web publishers to serve text-only ads. The video beta version, enables publishers to serve targeted, contextually-relevant video graphical ads and text overlays, and is seen as an alternative to the pre-roll an post-roll advertising clips that have become the industry's default standard advertising format.

Google has been working on ways to expand its reach into video ever since its $1.65 billion acquisitions of YouTube in 2006, and recently began accelerating its role in TV advertising sales, as well, via its AdWords For TV program, which enables advertisers to buy addressable TV advertising on cable and satellite TV systems.

Early this morning, Google announced deals with the Tremor Media and YouMe video advertising networks, two of what are expected to be several partnership deals for its AdSense for video expansion.

Tremor said it has incorporated "one-click integration" of Google's contextually targeted ads into its dynamic ad insertion platform, Ad-inStream, for publishers in Tremor Media's network to accept targeted Google AdSense for video advertising formats with only a check-box.

According to comScore, Tremor Media provides access to consumers through their network of more than 800 aggregated sites that reach 94 million unique users every month. Publishers across Tremor Media's network can now support traditional text overlays through Google's AdSense for video beta, providing contextually targeted advertising by leveraging a video's metadata.

In addition, Tremor will also support InVideo graphical and rich media overlays that aid advertisers with a consistent brand message across their traditional display advertising as well as emerging video ad formats.