Google is on a shopping spree with the purchase of Teracent, a startup which sells machine learning technology used to create display ads that are optimized in real-time. It’s the third acquisition for Google this month and comes as Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said the company would increase the pace of its acquisitions.

Teracent’s targeting platform can takes thousands of elements from a display ad and then regroup them instantly based on various factors, like the geographic location of a website visitor or the past behavior of ad viewers. The startup also has a partnership with Yahoo to target mobile ads.

In a blog post, Google notes other display advertising features it has introduced recently, including improved measurement tools, and says it will make Teracent’s technology available to its display ad clients.

Teracent likely won’t be the last acquisition to bolster Google’s display efforts. Display ad leader Yahoo is struggling to right itself and the recession has dealt display ads a heavy blow. Although Google recently has seen its search ad business improve after a slowdown for much of this year, display ads are seen as the next potential growth area for the company.