IP: We Get What They Pay For

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

To view the entire article, go to
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14382-2002Feb27.html

We Get What They Pay For

By Leslie Walker

Behold the soul of a search engine. It appears to be available to the
highest bidder.

Ever since Internet advertising slowed, halting revenue growth at the
Internet's top networks, pressure has been building on Web companies to sell
advertisers prominent placement in the results their search engines
generate.

Once it was unthinkable that companies could buy their way to the top of the
listings produced when you type in a phrase like "digital cameras." But
advertisers' bargaining power has increased in proportion to the decline in
the economy, helping them claim a choice piece of digital real estate.

Today most Internet networks present paid listings at the top of their
search result pages in a format closely resembling the regular listings
below. Many even let the amount of an advertiser's bid dictate how high a
listing appears.

Type in "George Bush" at big Internet gateways, for instance, and the top
matches are likely to be links to eBay and Amazon.com. That's because eBay
and Amazon lately have been top bidders for the George Bush "keyword,"
offering 11 cents and 10 cents, respectively, for each click-through a
search engine delivers. In return, eBay gets to present a ridiculous link
that says, "You can find George W. Bush right here!" Clicking on it leads to
a list of cheesy items for sale on eBay, the first being a fake $2001 bill
imprinted with George W.'s face.

snip

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