Today in Google’s Public Policy Blog, Alex Kinnear, Group Product Manager traces the history why Google decided on buying out ad serving company, Double Click. The controversial buyout plan got Google receiving some flak from search engine competitors. Microsoft for one was not happy about the deal.
After tracing back the history of ad serving and explaining what it is, how DoubleClick and Google differs in their advertising program, Kinnier gives the following reasons why Google is buying DoubleClick.
- DoubleClick’s products and technology are complementary to our search and and content-based text advertising business, and give us new opportunities to improve online advertising for consumers, advertisers and publishers.
- Historically, we’ve not allowed third parties to serve into Google’s AdSense network, which has made it hard for advertisers to get performance metrics. Together, Google and DoubleClick can deliver a more open platform for advertisers, and provide the metrics they need to manage marketing campaigns.
- By combining Google’s infrastructure with DoubleClick’s knowledge of agencies and publishers, we can create the next generation of more innovative ad serving technology, one that significantly improves the efficiency and effectiveness of online advertising.
- To manage ad inventory, some of the largest publishers use DoubleClick DART for Publishers – but a good portion of it goes unsold. It’s our view that the combination of DoubleClick and Google will help these publishers succeed by monetizing their unsold inventory.
Ok, no matter how valid those reasons are, and whether they are self-serving to Google, the fact is, the acquisition of DoubleClick would bring positive effects not only to Google advertisers and publishers but most importantly to the consumers. The web has been diluted with various product advertising and it has become a huge market place where users are bombarded with all sorts of product advertisements. Gone are the days when the internet was a virtual place where the users hang out to learn, get educated and be informed.
Google is just leveling the ad playing field and putting some organization on the mess that internet marketing has created on the web.
Whether it earns great leverage over ad serving competitors is something that can be ignored if only for the benefits that this deal would bring to the internet consumers.
