May 23, 2007
AOL The First In Google Search Ad Network Allowed To Sell Own Ads
From IBD today (via Yahoo! Finance):
"Advertisers who want to park search ads on AOL might be better off driving there directly rather than taking a tour with Google.AOL's move to sell Google-style search ads last month could be a boon for advertisers who want search-based text ads to appear on AOL but not lesser-known sites in Google's ad network, search marketers say.
Following up on a deal struck in 2005, AOL last month began selling AOL-branded versions of Google's search ads, giving advertisers an opportunity they never had before. It's an opportunity many appear be eager to take, says Chris Winfield, president of 10e20, which helps companies place ads online."
I don't know if this is really "news" or not and will be interested to see how others in the industry spin it. There are some other interesting items in the article - like this - "The problem is that Google's partner network also is inundated with so-called domain-parking sites." Hmm...