Google and Microsoft to Battle Over AOL?
Google and Microsoft may be taking their next battle out of the courtroom and into the Time Warner board room as the analysts are boiling over who may be acquiring a large part of AOL. Last week the New York Post (a News Corp company) reported that Microsoft was interested in paying Time Warner an unspecified amount of cash to take a large enough stake in AOL and then merge it into their MSN network.
The Microsoft ‘acquisition’ of AOL would surely lead to an establised partner where MSN could showcase its MSN Search Engine and MSN AdCenter Keywords advertising (to be launched by MSN this year). The acquisition would also add to MSN’s registered customer base, edging it closer up the ladder to Yahoo.
However, currently Google powers AOL’s search engine and Google AdWords ads are served on AOL during search results. Additionally, Google revenue generated form its AdWords partnership with AOL is 12% of Google’s total revenue model. As a defensive move to keep that revenue, Google may enter a bidding war with Microsoft over AOL.
Besides keeping its revenue, Google would also add strengths from the deal similar to what MSN would gain; registered members and content channels.
Wouldn’t such an action by Google be taking the company into the wrong direction? Google’s recent acquisitions have been innovative technology companies and more cutting edge than … AOL.
Why go through the motions of forking over billions of dollars to bring such users into Google? Let’s remember that Google is a media company, AOL is a media channel, and AOL can bring Google and Google applications into the homes of those who are not the usual Google suspects. Furthermore, let us not forget, AOL also owns Advertising.com, a very cutting edge advertising company which would bring a harem of technology, behavioral targeting, happy advertisers and content publishers into the Google Advertising Network.
