Google to Get AdSense Competition From Amazon?

Posted by: Rob Hof on February 05

Chris Beasley says it looks like Amazon is considering an ad network to compete with Google’s AdSense. Beasley, who’s an Amazon Associate—meaning he gets commissions for referring his Web site visitors to purchase items at Amazon.com—says Amazon is sounding out some Associates to try out an AdSense-like program.

It’s intriguing that Amazon may be more actively looking for a way to participate in online advertising. So far, it has run Google contextual ads as well as display ads for other advertisers on its daily, personalized Gold Box specials, but not much else in the ad realm. Amazon has a pretty good critical mass of customers and products, and a search site, A9.com, that it’s clearly putting a lot of effort and money into, so it makes sense to explore the possibilities. How far it will get against an entrenched Google is pretty uncertain, though. In fact, Beasley has turned down Amazon twice because AdSense is so profitable for him.

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