SAN FRANCISCO -- Google will supply eBay with web-search advertising outside the United States, and the two will join forces on click-to-call ads that link online shoppers to customer service operators, the companies said on Monday.
EBay said that for international online text advertising it had agreed to rely exclusively on Google instead of current partner Yahoo, which in May struck a parallel deal to handle all of eBay's U.S. ads.
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 Internet video-syndication system with Viacom's MTV Networks. It also struck a deal to supply ads to MySpace users and other web properties of the News Corporation.
"This [latest deal with eBay] in fact is the most important of these areas," Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said by telephone.
"You can now see Google's strategy in each of these new markets," Schmidt said of MTV's web videos, the MySpace community and eBay e-commerce partnerships. "These are very large businesses for us. I don't know what rate they will grow at."
Separately, Google said Sunday that it was moving beyond search and advertising into the business software market, starting with a set of web programs for e-mail, scheduling and communications. It plans to add additional programs later.
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.
EBay increasingly depends on paid search advertising to drive bidders to its site. Its new pacts seek to make it easier for buyers to search for items for sale on eBay, while being careful not to offend sellers with competing ads.
Through its deal with Yahoo, eBay chief executive Meg Whitman said, eBay had already begun testing ads that appeared when U.S. customers failed to locate what they wanted on an eBay auction search. The Google agreement expands this to international sites.
If and when eBay sellers become more comfortable seeing ads alongside their listings, eBay plans to expand the number of pages where Yahoo or Google ads may appear, Whitman said.
The companies said they would jointly offer click-to-call advertising using the instant message and internet phone services of the two companies -- eBay's globally popular Skype and Google's own, nascent Google Talk service. Click-to-call is where advertising merges into e-commerce. It allows potential buyers to click on internet ad links and talk directly to sellers or their representatives.
The technique is seen as a promising way to reach merchants or advertisers who may not have a web site, or who rely on Yellow Pages telephone directories to find possible customers.
"The vast majority of businesses still serve customers via the phone," Whitman said. "This is the online equivalent."
"Google and eBay are uniquely positioned to make this market a reality," she added.
EBay said it would soon offer Skype users the option to download the Google Toolbar, which has quick links to Google services, especially web search. The two will explore making Skype and Google Talk work together for text chats and to help make users aware when users of the other service are online.
EBay said that for international online text advertising it had agreed to rely exclusively on Google instead of current partner Yahoo, which in May struck a parallel deal to handle all of eBay's U.S. ads.
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 Internet video-syndication system with Viacom's MTV Networks. It also struck a deal to supply ads to MySpace users and other web properties of the News Corporation.
"This [latest deal with eBay] in fact is the most important of these areas," Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said by telephone.
"You can now see Google's strategy in each of these new markets," Schmidt said of MTV's web videos, the MySpace community and eBay e-commerce partnerships. "These are very large businesses for us. I don't know what rate they will grow at."
Separately, Google said Sunday that it was moving beyond search and advertising into the business software market, starting with a set of web programs for e-mail, scheduling and communications. It plans to add additional programs later.
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.
EBay increasingly depends on paid search advertising to drive bidders to its site. Its new pacts seek to make it easier for buyers to search for items for sale on eBay, while being careful not to offend sellers with competing ads.
Through its deal with Yahoo, eBay chief executive Meg Whitman said, eBay had already begun testing ads that appeared when U.S. customers failed to locate what they wanted on an eBay auction search. The Google agreement expands this to international sites.
If and when eBay sellers become more comfortable seeing ads alongside their listings, eBay plans to expand the number of pages where Yahoo or Google ads may appear, Whitman said.
The companies said they would jointly offer click-to-call advertising using the instant message and internet phone services of the two companies -- eBay's globally popular Skype and Google's own, nascent Google Talk service. Click-to-call is where advertising merges into e-commerce. It allows potential buyers to click on internet ad links and talk directly to sellers or their representatives.
The technique is seen as a promising way to reach merchants or advertisers who may not have a web site, or who rely on Yellow Pages telephone directories to find possible customers.
"The vast majority of businesses still serve customers via the phone," Whitman said. "This is the online equivalent."
"Google and eBay are uniquely positioned to make this market a reality," she added.
EBay said it would soon offer Skype users the option to download the Google Toolbar, which has quick links to Google services, especially web search. The two will explore making Skype and Google Talk work together for text chats and to help make users aware when users of the other service are online.
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