• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, March 3, 2010

The Tribune Company said Wednesday that it has invested in Perfect Market, a startup that helps publishers monetize their content throughout the so-called "long-tail."

Tribune Co. -- owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, among other publications -- began using Perfect Market's services across various Web properties last year. Obviously pleased with the results, Tribune is now leading the startup's third round of funding, worth some $6 million.

"We have seen excellent results using Perfect Market's solution on our Web sites," said Dan Kazan, Tribune's SVP of corporate development, and the newest member of Perfect Market's Board of Directors. Kazan, however, did not provide specifics.

Perfect Market optimizes publishers' sites for better placement in search engine placement, while also matching relevant ads to those pages.

The startup closed its initial round of financing in mid-2008 to the tune of $15 million. Existing investors Trinity Ventures, Rustic Canyon Partners and Idealab also participated in this latest round.

The Altadena, CA-based startup says it will use the funds to more aggressively market its platform to pretty much any publisher with a Web presence.

The announcement comes on the heels of news earlier this week that Perfect Market had hired former Tribune Interactive EVP Robertson Barrett as its new chief strategy officer.

At Tribune Interactive, Barrett managed the operations and strategic development of the company's disparate online properties.

The investment represents a broader effort by Tribune to establish its online presence at ever more local levels. Last April, Tribune's Media Group launched ChicagoNow.com, a network of roughly 70 local blogs on a variety of Chicago-centric topics.