24/7 Real elevates search unit

24/7 Real Media said Wednesday that it has renamed its search advertising division to emphasize a specialization in a booming sector of Web marketing. 24/7 Search, formerly known as 24/7 Website Results, is a unit of 24/7 Real, a New York-based marketing services agency that helps advertisers and ad agencies manage their search campaigns. The company said it renamed the unit in part to reflect newly added products such as bid management services and analysis technology.

24/7 Search has nearly 1,500 advertising customers and partnerships with 19 search engines, according to the company. Search engines such as Yahoo's Inktomi allow 24/7 to submit Web addresses into a "trusted feed" program for rapid inclusion and increased exposure in search results. Bid-for-placement search advertising has become a billion-dollar industry in the last two years and is expected to grow to between $6 billion and $8 billion in the next five years.