With AdWords the most dominant player in paid search, Google is looking to take the same system of aligning buyers and sellers to other forms of advertising, including web banner ads, radio, print, and mobile. Through acquisitions and several homegrown initiatives, the company is now lined up against dozens of other companies competing for ad dollars both online and off.
Contextual Advertising
Google Adsense - Thousands of companies have built a business around Google’s contextual advertising platform that matches text ads to web site content. While AdSense dominates this market, all of the big players have competing offerings, as well as a few specialty outfits. In its most recent quarter, AdSense accounted for $1.35 billion in revenue for Google.
Yahoo Publisher Network – YPN still claims to be in Beta, but offers a very similar product to AdSense. Publishers create an account and cut and paste code to their site, and Yahoo serves up ads relating to the content of the page.
MSN AdCenter – Microsoft offers its AdCenter platform to advertisers looking for exposure in Microsoft Live searches and on other MSN Properties. Currently Microsoft does not provide an open system for other web sites to serve AdCenter ads, although the company does sell advertising for Facebook. Meanwhile, Google powers the search and contextual advertising on MySpace.
Ask.com Sponsored Listings – Ask.com recently launched an AdSense competitor, going after one of Google’s perceived weaknesses – a lack of transparency in terms of telling publishers what their cut of revenue is.
MIVA – Formerly known as FindWhat.com, a popular search engine in the first Internet boom, MIVA focuses on a variety of advertising options for publishers, including contextual product MIVA MC.
Kanoodle – Kanoodle offers a solution for publishers that want to run ads next to their own search results. It’s a subsidiary of Seavast, an online marketing conglomerate.
AdBrite – Offering a marketplace of sorts, AdBrite allows publishers to place text ads on their site and have advertisers buy them directly at a fixed price. They also allow you to set a floor price and run ads from a competing network (such as AdSense) when that price can’t be beaten.
Online Display Advertising
Right Media – Acquired by Yahoo for $680 million, Right Media offers web publishers both a web-based ad management system and a marketplace called RMX Direct where advertisers can compete for publisher inventory.
aQuantive – The biggest acquisition in the history of Microsoft, aQuantive is the parent company of several online advertising outfits, including Razorfish, Atlas, and Drive. The company offers both technology for managing advertising and services for aligning buyers with web publishers.
Advertising.com – AOL was actually one of the first big players to move in on display ad networks, acquiring Advertising.com in 2004 for $435 million, a steal given the price tags of recent online advertising deals. Advertising.com claims their network of publishers reaches more than 85% of online users.
Valueclick – The biggest remaining independent ad network, Valueclick owns a wide variety of online ad properties, including Fastclick (banner ads), Commission Junction (affiliate advertising), and PriceRunner (comparison shopping). Wall Street currently values the company at $3 billion.
Tribal Fusion – Tribal Fusion is an ad network serving an estimated 19 billion monthly impressions. They provide advertisers with a variety of topical channels on which to target their ads.
24/7 Real Media – A provider of both technology and one of the Web’s largest banner advertising networks, 24/7 Real Media was acquired by global advertising agency WPP Group in May for $649 million. The company was founded all the way back in 1994.
Other Ad Formats – Broadcast, Print, In-Game
In print, Google has extended its AdWords platform to allow you to bid on ads in major newspapers. In broadcast, Google acquired dMarc, a company that aligns radio advertisers and stations. For in-game advertising, the company acquired AdScape, a small startup. Competitors abound in all three segments, primarily in the form of the status quo of buying ads directly from the newspapers and radio stations with whom you want to advertise. Meanwhile, here is how a few key players are attacking these markets:
Microsoft – In May, Microsoft acquired Massive Incorporated, which has deals with major gaming companies like Electronic Arts to provide in-game ads.
IGA Worldwide – The largest independent in-game ad network, IGA places ads in popular titles like Counter Strike and works with major advertisers like T-Mobile and Intel.
Linden Labs – As the operator of virtual world Second Life, Linden Labs has attracted major brands like Pontiac, Dell, and Coca Cola to its “game” with mixed results, including several incidents of virtual vandalism.
Bid4Spots – An online auction of sorts for last minute buying of radio advertising across the US.
SWMX Radio – Provides tools that allow radio stations to manage their advertising inventory, while offering a marketplace for advertisers to buy air time.
Newspaper National Network – Jointly owned by 24 of the nation’s largest newspapers and the Newspaper Association of America, Newspaper National Network connects advertisers directly with some of the largest newspapers in the US. The company also helps sell inventory for newspaper’s online versions.
Nationwide Newspapers – An ad agency specializing in placement of both display and classified ads in newspapers across the US, including mailers like the Penny Saver and college newspapers. Nationwide Newspapers claims a circulation of up to 60 million papers weekly.
Contextual Advertising
Google Adsense - Thousands of companies have built a business around Google’s contextual advertising platform that matches text ads to web site content. While AdSense dominates this market, all of the big players have competing offerings, as well as a few specialty outfits. In its most recent quarter, AdSense accounted for $1.35 billion in revenue for Google.
Yahoo Publisher Network – YPN still claims to be in Beta, but offers a very similar product to AdSense. Publishers create an account and cut and paste code to their site, and Yahoo serves up ads relating to the content of the page.
MSN AdCenter – Microsoft offers its AdCenter platform to advertisers looking for exposure in Microsoft Live searches and on other MSN Properties. Currently Microsoft does not provide an open system for other web sites to serve AdCenter ads, although the company does sell advertising for Facebook. Meanwhile, Google powers the search and contextual advertising on MySpace.
Ask.com Sponsored Listings – Ask.com recently launched an AdSense competitor, going after one of Google’s perceived weaknesses – a lack of transparency in terms of telling publishers what their cut of revenue is.
MIVA – Formerly known as FindWhat.com, a popular search engine in the first Internet boom, MIVA focuses on a variety of advertising options for publishers, including contextual product MIVA MC.
Kanoodle – Kanoodle offers a solution for publishers that want to run ads next to their own search results. It’s a subsidiary of Seavast, an online marketing conglomerate.
AdBrite – Offering a marketplace of sorts, AdBrite allows publishers to place text ads on their site and have advertisers buy them directly at a fixed price. They also allow you to set a floor price and run ads from a competing network (such as AdSense) when that price can’t be beaten.
Online Display Advertising
Right Media – Acquired by Yahoo for $680 million, Right Media offers web publishers both a web-based ad management system and a marketplace called RMX Direct where advertisers can compete for publisher inventory.
aQuantive – The biggest acquisition in the history of Microsoft, aQuantive is the parent company of several online advertising outfits, including Razorfish, Atlas, and Drive. The company offers both technology for managing advertising and services for aligning buyers with web publishers.
Advertising.com – AOL was actually one of the first big players to move in on display ad networks, acquiring Advertising.com in 2004 for $435 million, a steal given the price tags of recent online advertising deals. Advertising.com claims their network of publishers reaches more than 85% of online users.
Valueclick – The biggest remaining independent ad network, Valueclick owns a wide variety of online ad properties, including Fastclick (banner ads), Commission Junction (affiliate advertising), and PriceRunner (comparison shopping). Wall Street currently values the company at $3 billion.
Tribal Fusion – Tribal Fusion is an ad network serving an estimated 19 billion monthly impressions. They provide advertisers with a variety of topical channels on which to target their ads.
24/7 Real Media – A provider of both technology and one of the Web’s largest banner advertising networks, 24/7 Real Media was acquired by global advertising agency WPP Group in May for $649 million. The company was founded all the way back in 1994.
Other Ad Formats – Broadcast, Print, In-Game
In print, Google has extended its AdWords platform to allow you to bid on ads in major newspapers. In broadcast, Google acquired dMarc, a company that aligns radio advertisers and stations. For in-game advertising, the company acquired AdScape, a small startup. Competitors abound in all three segments, primarily in the form of the status quo of buying ads directly from the newspapers and radio stations with whom you want to advertise. Meanwhile, here is how a few key players are attacking these markets:
Microsoft – In May, Microsoft acquired Massive Incorporated, which has deals with major gaming companies like Electronic Arts to provide in-game ads.
IGA Worldwide – The largest independent in-game ad network, IGA places ads in popular titles like Counter Strike and works with major advertisers like T-Mobile and Intel.
Linden Labs – As the operator of virtual world Second Life, Linden Labs has attracted major brands like Pontiac, Dell, and Coca Cola to its “game” with mixed results, including several incidents of virtual vandalism.
Bid4Spots – An online auction of sorts for last minute buying of radio advertising across the US.
SWMX Radio – Provides tools that allow radio stations to manage their advertising inventory, while offering a marketplace for advertisers to buy air time.
Newspaper National Network – Jointly owned by 24 of the nation’s largest newspapers and the Newspaper Association of America, Newspaper National Network connects advertisers directly with some of the largest newspapers in the US. The company also helps sell inventory for newspaper’s online versions.
Nationwide Newspapers – An ad agency specializing in placement of both display and classified ads in newspapers across the US, including mailers like the Penny Saver and college newspapers. Nationwide Newspapers claims a circulation of up to 60 million papers weekly.
