• by Ken Liebeskind , September 20, 2001

B2BWorks, the leading business to business online ad network, is teaming up with Northern Light, a B2B search engine, to offer keyword searches for advertisers.

B2BWorks will sell inventory on Northern Light and receive a commission for sales, according to Paul Wilson, director of East Coast sales for Northern Light Technology.

B2BWorks advertisers will be able to serve a variety of online ads through Northern Light searches, including banners and Skyscrapers. Unlike pay-per-click search engines, B2BWorks advertisers won't compete for top keyword listings at Northern Light. "We don't use that model," Wilson says, explaining that some keywords may be shared, but not to the extent of pay- per-click search engines that auction off keywords to the top bidders.

The deal gives B2BWorks' advertisers the opportunity to expand their programs. They ordinarily buy banners and other online advertising on the B2BWorks network of more than 500 B2B Web publishers, mostly the websites of trade publications. Now they can buy keyword searches on Northern Light, a B2B search engine that offers users traditional Web based searches plus material from 7,100 print publications that is sold on a subscription or pay per view basis. Northern Light's other special feature is that searches don't just produce long lists of sites but blue custom folders that list related sites. B2BWorks advertisers can buy both keywords and custom folders, which could enable them to reach prospects faster, Wilson says.

Karen Breen Vogel, B2BWorks senior VP of strategy, says the deal was motivated by customer request. "They bought other advertising and asked about keyword ads, so we just made a mission of it," she says. "We wouldn't do it ourselves. Northern Light's B2B orientation adds to our ability and extends the sales channel for them."

Wilson says, "Other companies have sold inventory for us, but we haven't done it lately. We felt there were a lot of synergies with B2BWorks and its advertisers. We couldn't get to all those companies on our own, so it's a win-win relationship."

Vogel wouldn't say exactly how much advertisers will pay for Northern Light keywords when bought through B2BWorks. "It depends on how many keywords are bought and for what duration," she says. CPM rates will be charged, based on the number of times a keyword is selected. "Most marketers consider it an economic way to reach targets," she says.