TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Google Now Permits web Sites to Sign up Advertisers Directly

Google Now Permits web Sites to Sign up Advertisers Directly

Eric Auchard (reuters@telecom-digest.org)
Fri, 18 Nov 2005 20:52:20 -0600

Google lets Web sites sign up advertisers directly
By Eric AuchardFri Nov 18, 5:29 PM ET

Advertisers wishing to place ads on Google-supported Web sites can sign up
directly on those sites, the Web search leader said on Friday, in a move
analysts said addresses concerns about its growing advertising clout.

The company said the new feature, known as Onsite Advertiser Sign-up, will
help Web site publishers connect with a wider range of small advertisers
when using Google's behind- the-scenes ad management system.

Previously, advertisers seeking to market on Web sites using Google's
syndicated AdSense advertising system had to enroll through Google's AdWords
program and list sites where they wished their ads to be featured.

The instant sign-up feature ties site owners and advertisers by giving Web
publishers more direct control over how advertisers select ads on particular
sites. In turn, site owners and Google each receive a cut of resulting ad
sales.

Gary Stein, an analyst with Jupiter Research in San Francisco, said Google
has faced mounting competition as it seeks to attract and keep thousands of
publishers in its AdSense advertising syndication program.

"It is a message to publishers that you can still own and manage your own
advertising relationships," Stein said. "They don't have to all be mediated
by Google."

Rivals Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news), Kanoodle and others appeal to
Google's Web site publishers by questioning how much control they want to
cede to Google to manage the publishers ties to its own advertisers. Web
site publishers often use a variety of different ad networks on different
portions of their sites and decide which one to use based on customer
returns, Stein said.

AdSense, which allows Web site publishers to run keyword text or image
ads through a system managed by Google, has become a phenomenally
popular way for sites to generate revenue from each ad clicked on by
site visitors.

Google receives 99 percent of its revenue from advertising sales. A
little less than half of the Mountain View, California-based company's
revenue comes from Google-run advertising on other companies' Web
sites.

The new feature is designed to allow Web sites to sign up smaller
advertisers while leaving the headaches of managing the production and
billing process to Google's automated software.

But how Google manages its ad system remains something of a mystery to
its customers, Stein said.

While Yahoo and Kanoodle have sought to make their ad systems more
transparent to publishers, Google keeps key details of how its system
runs secret from customers and asks them to trust that it markets ads
in an even-handed fashion.

Advertisers wishing to advertise directly on a Web sites using the
syndicated Google advertising program can click on an "Advertise on
This Site" link that takes them to a Google page where they can create
an AdWords ad for the specific Web site.

Ads created through Onsite Advertiser Sign-Up will compete in the same
auction as all other Google ads. The new feature is an extension of
Google's site-targeted advertising, which was launched earlier this
year.

More information on the onsite advertising program will be available at
http://www.google.com/services/oasu/.

Google shares, which topped $400 for the first time on Thursday, dipped
$3.24, or 0.8 percent to close at $400.21 in Friday trading on Nasdaq.

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

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