Amazon searches with Google

Not all about advertising, the companies insist

Google plans to provide search services and sponsored links to Amazon.com under a multiyear deal the companies announced on Thursday. Financial details of the deal were not released. Sponsored links from Google are available now on a selection of Amazon pages. More links, and Google's web search service, will be made available in the next few months, the companies said. Google, which dominates the search arena, has been beefing up its sponsorship deals as it expands its ad network and seeks new revenue. The Mountain View, California-based company recently launched a programme that identifies the meaning of a web page and then automatically places relevant ads. The move is something of a twist for Amazon, which has not generally used advertising on its pages. But the Seattle-based online retailer last month filed for a patent on a method for auctioning web advertisements, raising questions about the company's interest in the ad market. The companies emphasised the search aspects of the deal over the sponsored links. "Google's services will enable Amazon.com customers to conduct research across the web," Omid Kordestani, senior vice president of Google's worldwide sales and field operations, said in a statement. The initial rollout of the sponsored links will appear on product pages as lists of other things that "customers might be interested in", Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener said. For instance, sponsored links on a product page for a Bruce Springsteen CD include sites selling concert tickets. The links will pop up in a new window, Herdener said. Margaret Kane writes for CNET News.com.