Back in December 2005 when Google won a five-year extension of its search deal with AOL, the fine print included an AOL Marketplace based on white-label Google ad technology. Some 16 months later, the AOL Search Marketplace will launch after several months in beta with 30 advertisers. The custom version of Google AdWords gives AOL a viable addition to its display advertising while providing advertisers with the ability to target their search buys to AOL users. Mike Kelly, president of AOL Media Networks, says the latter was something advertisers had been asking for because they were seeing strong results from the AOL search audience. AOL brought that interest to the negotiating table with Google. “This was one thing we did not offer and now we do,” Kelly explained in an interview. There are some differences between Google AdWords and the AOL version of sponsored links, he added: “We have a slightly different process, a different sales force.” The beta version of the marketplace rolled out late last year; after five months, the actual launch is slated for Monday.
— AOL gets a revenue share for the sponsored links that appear in AOL Search; Google gets a revenue share for the technology used in Marketplace. Of course, Google also stands to benefit as a part-owner of AOL; the search company acquired 5 percent of AOL for $1 billion as part of the 2005 deal.
— Marketplace is not wide-open; it’s meant for the portals major advertising partners, about 1,000 predominantly brand advertisers. Kelly: “What we don’t have is the self-serve capability, the tail capability.” As for the advertisers who are being sought, “They’re not shifting dollars from display to search; they’re giving us an opportunity to compete for their search dollars.” The value, he says, comes from targeting the AOL audience, which converts at a higher rate — and should prompt higher bidding.
— AOL claims 36 million monthly uniques for AOL Search.
Other AOL Search additions:
— AOL Local Search, still in beta, combines technology from MapQuest, editorial from AOL CityGuide and geo-targeted advertising. When I asked Kelly why AOL was late to the local search game, he rightly pointed out that AOL can also lay claim to having been out front with MapQuest, which had 45 million uniques in February.
— AOL Shopping and Commerce Search is the result of an AOL partnership with PriceGrabber.com.
Related:
— Nearly Three Months Later, Still No Definitive Agreement For Google, AOL
— AOL-Google: Deal Details Include Connecting Google Talk, AIM
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