Ask Jeeves, Google extend ad links deal

Ask Jeeves has extended a deal with Google to allow the search king to provide sponsored links on its sites and portals until 2007.

The earlier three-year agreement let Google feature its paid listings advertising service on Ask Jeeves Web sites such as Ask.com, Ask.co.uk and Teoma.com. The new deal will also cover several companies Ask Jeeves has acquired since then. The companies did not disclose financial details of the agreement.

In March, Emeryville, Calif.-based Ask Jeeves bought Interactive Search Holdings, which owned sites including iWon, Excite, My Way and My Web Search.

Sponsored listings programs allow marketers to bid for placement next to or within search results related to specific queries. One advantage for advertisers is that they only have to pay for the search sites when Web surfers click on the links.

Ask Jeeves has plans to boost its odds of collecting ad revenue from search-related marketing, an industry worth an expected $4 billion in 2004. Search-related ads from Google have already buoyed Ask Jeeves' earnings over the last year. The earlier deal, which was to end in 2005, was expected to net an estimated $100 million from Google's advertisers.

"There continues to be significant growth opportunities in search advertising" as mainstream marketers increase their online spending, Ask Jeeves CEO Steve Berkowitz said in a statement.

Research firm Nielsen/NetRatings last month said that Ask Jeeves is the ninth most visited site in the United States, with more than 32 million unique users.