BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Google Inc. and eBay
Inc. have entered into an agreement involving text-based advertising and
"click-to-call" advertising functionality, the companies said on
Monday.
Under the partnership, Google would become the
exclusive provider of text advertising on eBay outside the United States. In
May, eBay announced a deal with the No. 2 Internet search engine, Yahoo Inc., to
serve all its domestic advertising.
In addition, the companies also plan to integrate and
launch "click-to-call" advertising functionality within eBay's U.S. and
international marketplaces and Google's search platform.
The click-to-call capability will allow a user to
click on a link or icon within a product or service advertisement to initiate an
Internet voice call to participating eBay merchants or Google advertisers
directly from either company's respective sites, using Skype or Google Talk.
Click-to-call advertising is aimed at those merchants
or advertisers who may not have a website, or who currently use channels such as
local directories to reach potential customers.
The eBay contract is part of a string of deals this
month for Google. It previously said it planned to begin testing an ad-supported
Web video syndication system with Viacom's MTV Networks. It also struck a deal
to supply ads to MySpace users and other Web properties of News Corp..
Financial terms for components of the deal involve
revenue sharing, but the companies did not disclose specific details. EBay said
it did not expect the Google agreement to have a material impact on its
financial results in 2006 or 2007. Enditem
(Agencies)