DoubleClick
Google Releases DoubleClick Acquisition FAQ
Google just released an FAQ on their acquisition of DoubleClick. Choice cuts:
We expect that DoubleClick will operate independently until our integration plan is finalized.
Unlike YouTube, DoubleClick will not continue to run independently of Google for long. Figures: unlike YouTube, DoubleClick doesn’t have a terribly passionate user community to maintain. It’s strictly business. I guess the whole thing will be folded into AdWords eventually, features and all.
Working with DoubleClick, we will make online text and display advertising more targeted and relevant for the user and therefore more valuable to the advertiser.
As Marc Macalua predicted at iBlog3, any contextualization technology DoubleClick has will probably dropped in favor of Google’s.
At this time, we will continue to operate DoubleClick’s services as they have been. They have proven to be a successful business and we don’t have immediate plans to change their business model.
Unlike when Google bought Urchin, we won’t be getting the acquiree’s previously paid services for free. Yet. Damn.
As both an AdSense publisher and an AdWords advertiser, I’m very excited by this deal. Let’s see what happens.
Google Buys DoubleClick for $3.1 Billion
Google reached an agreement today to acquire DoubleClick, the online advertising company, from two private equity firms for $3.1 billion in cash, the companies announced, an amount that was almost double the $1.65 billion in stock that Google paid for YouTube late last year.
The sale offers Google access to DoubleClick’s advertisement software and, more importantly, its relationships with Web publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies.
For months, Google has been trying to expand its foothold in online advertising into display ads, the area where DoubleClick is strongest. Google made its name and still generates most of its revenue from search and contextual text ads.
DoubleClick, which was founded in 1996, provides display ads on Web sites like MySpace, The Wall Street Journal and America Online as well as software to help those sites maximize ad revenue. The company also helps ad buyers — advertisers and ad agencies — manage and measure the effectiveness of their rich media, search and other online ads.
Not only is this a jarring blow to Microsoft, it’s also part of Google’s bid for global advertising domination in a world increasingly dependent on Web services. Find out why on Emerging Earth.
