Google atypically held a conference call with analysts this week in which it discussed efforts to move into display or "branded" advertising--the longtime territory of Yahoo, Inc. The search giant
turned Web portal (sort of) said it hoped to launch experiments in display over the next year. Eric Schmidt, the company's CEO, said Google is looking to integrate the targeting and measurement
components of its search advertising system, for display and video, which is "likely to take considerable time to develop," the
Financial Times said. During the call, Schmidt said the company
is not considering acquisitions as a way to build traffic, suggesting instead that it might look into more partnerships like the one it forged with AOL late last year. Since Google is entirely
dependent on keyword-based search and contextual advertising, a successful move into display and video could make the Web giant nearly twice as big. The company is working hard to unveil more and
more services that will help it sell more ads. Yahoo, meanwhile, relies on display ads for approximately half of its ad revenue.
Read the whole story at Financial Times »
