WebGuerrilla - 7:30 pm on Mar 15, 2005 (gmt 0)

Well, it messes up the industry a bit. Which generally works well for the independent webmaster.

How anyone could think that introducing new competition is a bad thing for the independent webmaster is beyond me.

First off, this release has nothing to do with publishers. It will be a roll out of a system that will ultimately replace all Overture ads.

During the rollout period they will probably be using a combination of both systems. That means there will most likely be a period where and advertiser could purchase some additional space at rates less than Overtutre. Or advertisiers who can't afford the current Overture rates for MSN might be able to get in and test the waters for a cheaper price.

Once the bugs are worked out, and they completely replace Overture, the pricing will jump up literaly overnight because all the Overture advertisers will move part of their spend to MSN. Advertisers aren't going to end up paying more, they will just be paying three different bills instead of two.

As far as a contextual/publisher program goes, there most certainly will be one rolled out once the system is ready. By this time next year independent webmasters will have three companies (Overture is testing as we speak) competing for the ad space on their sites. One of those competitors, has 16 times the cash reserves of the current contextual ad provider, and they have also demonstrated in the past that they are more than willing to take a loss in order to gain marketshare.

Based on that, I'd say that the odds of MSN releasing a contextual program that is far more transparent and ultimately pays publishers better than any current program are quite good.

Regardless of what program ends up winning, 2006 will end up being the most lucrative year yet for independent webmasters who make their living from contextual ad revenue.