Google Monday announced that it will now make available to AdWords users a program that allows advertisers to compare the conversion rates of ads in different channels, including Google's
search rival, Overture. The refinement is aimed at advertisers who run ads in multiple areas aside from AdWords, and is designed to monitor both pay-per-click and non-pay-per-click ads. This
move in tracking comes only one week after Google announced its intention to buy Web analytics firm Urchin. Speculation around search- watching sites and forums was that Google may offer the
analytics services to its customers for a very low price, possibly crowding out search marketing companies that serve medium and small businesses.
--Shankar Gupta
