eBay and Google Make Amends, Kinda

It's been tit for tat for some time; eBay bans Google payments, Google tries to throw a party mocking eBay, in response to which the service pulls all of its ads, fun corporate shenanigans. It seems as though, for the moment, the two companies have made up. News.com is reporting that eBay ads will once again be serviced via Google's adwords service, but that they will also be using alternative methods to a greater extent in the future. "Hani Durzy, a spokesman for San Jose, California-based eBay, said his company later on Friday would begin advertising on Google, but at reduced levels than previously. eBay had been buying tens of millions of keyword ads on Google each year. 'I will tell you it will be in a much more limited way than it was before,' Durzy told Reuters. 'What we found is that we were not as dependent on AdWords as some people thought.'"

Some people thought?

[TheRaven64]

Who thought eBay was dependant on AdWords at all? How many people:

1. Use Google, but have never heard of eBay, or
2. Are going to be interested in buying random words (e.g. 'slaves') on eBay? They even had the AdWords for my name for a while, but sadly they didn't sell a spare one of me.

Re:Some people thought?

[gravos]

Certainly it's pretty funny when we type something like "pidgin problem" into Google and see "Find pidgin problem now on eBay!" But when you look at search queries it's definitively true that a non-trivial number of them are for products, and probably people looking to buy. Besides, if eBay only pays through click-thrus, why would they care if there are false-positives?

Re:Some people thought?

[TheRaven64]

Besides, if eBay only pays through click-thrus, why would they care if there are false-positives?

I always click on the stupid eBay ad links. I figure if they're going to do something stupid, they should have to pay for it.

Re:Some people thought?

[Ignis Flatus]

dependent is such a strong word. it's like asking if walmart is dependent on local newspapers to sell goods. of course, everyone has heard of walmart, but running ads still brings in more customers and reduces sales to competitors. they may not be dependent on them, but they still need the ads to establish dominance. without dominance, you leave open the possibility that a competitor will one day take away a large piece of your pie. perhaps the whole pie.

Re:Sounds like a pre-divorce situation

[Brother Seamus]

The problem with this is that Google should view Ebay as a competitor, not as a spouse. These moves hurt Google's ability to innovate. They have to back off on entering certain new markets to protect their bread and butter ad business.

Which is Worse?

[Nom du Keyboard]

Which is worse? Pulling all eBay ads from Google, or the GDP (Google Death Penalty) of making you effectively disappear from the Internet. There's no Must Carry rule for Google, although they need do this sparingly, lest they become irrelevant in the search market. But eBay is only one company, and an arrogant one at that based on the number of legal items they ban from being sold, and the way they can suspend your seller account based on unverified complaints. eBay can hardly bring down Google.

Come to think of it, both eBay and Google are a lot alike. Both pull your sites/listings based on often unverified complaints, then make it d@mn near impossible to actually talk to somebody who can rectify the situation and have you reinstated. They deserve each other!