After being written off by industry observers for much of the past few years, AOL appears to have found its true calling: selling online advertising. As AOL continues to press its $900 million bid for TradeDoubler, the Swedish online marketing firm, the FT notes that the internet company has finally become a positive factor for Time Warner and its shareholders. The change in fortunes is due to AOL’s two-year-old stake in Advertising.com, which specializes buying space on web pages and then reselling it to marketers who want to reach a specific type of consumer. AOL’s ad-supported/free services strategy rests on that foundation. The company seems to be staying away from search advertising, which would bring it into conflict with search partner Google. As for how well AOL has been doing, investors will be watching for the Q406 numbers coming at the end of the month.
Related:
—AOL Won’t Raise TradeDoubler Bid
—AOL Acquires Broadband Ad Company Lightningcast
—AOL To Buy Advertising.com For $435 million