Ebay launches keyword advertising system

The e-commerce site Ebay is planning an advertising system in which Ebay sellers can use keywords to advertise their offers on other websites. At a conference for software developers, Michael van Swaaij, Head of Strategy at Ebay, provided information about the project. As the industry portal Cnet.com reports, the system is based on those of competitors Google and Yahoo. However, it differs from conventional pay-per-click systems as it will only link to Ebay auctions instead of acting as a general advertising network. Ebay plans to provide several hundred thousand users with code modules that they can embed on other websites. In return, the auctioneer must hand over a share of the sales proceeds. Which items appear in an ad depends on the keywords on the respective website - a system known as contextual advertising. Ebay scans the text of a website for keywords and links these to the relevant Ebay offer. Connected sites can expect to earn between 35 and 60 percent of the sales revenue.
A system test will begin in the coming days. Further information is not yet known. However, industry experts suspect that the move is a backlash against "Google Base" and "Gbuy". The "Google Base" database service allows Internet users to post all kinds of information or goods online. As the news agency Blooberg reports, Google is also planning to launch the payment service "Gbuy" at the end of June. This will make Google a trading platform and thus a direct competitor to eBay.