Google Selling Performics — Thanks, Google!

Last month, I did an open letter to Google wishing they’d quickly sell off
Performics, to avoid the conflict of
having a search marketing firm that works to improve results on Google’s own
search engine. Well, thank you Google! They’ve acted far more quickly than I
would have hoped for,

announcing today that the company will be splitting Performics into two
separate companies (affiliate marketing and search marketing) and selling the
search marketing business off. Now to see if Microsoft will do the right thing
and make a similar move with Avenue
A/Razorfish, as I covered in my open letter and in my
Ad Age column this
month. Below, Google’s statement on the move:

Since we closed the acquisition of DoubleClick on March 11, we’ve been
immersed in integration planning for each of our products and business units.
Recently we completed this process for the DoubleClick Performics businesses,
and have decided to split them into two separately-run business units:
Affiliate Marketing and Search Marketing.

It’s clear to us that we do not want to be in the search engine marketing
business. Maintaining objectivity in both search and advertising is paramount
to Google’s mission and core to the trust we ask from our users. For this
reason, we plan to sell the Performics search marketing business to a third
party. We believe this will allow us to maintain objectivity and the search
marketing business to continue to grow and innovate and serve its customers.
While we have not yet identified a buyer, we’ve received preliminary interest
from a number of our current partners. Search Marketing will continue to run
as a separate entity until the division is sold.

We plan to integrate the affiliate marketing business into existing Google
operations, providing enhanced value and reach for our affiliate advertisers,
and additional tools and monetization opportunities for our publishers.
Together, we believe that we can continue to grow this business and deliver on
the high expectations from partners.

Where it’s applicable in Europe, these plans and their implications for
employees are subject to consultation with staff and employee representatives.
During this transition, we will ensure that all affiliate and search marketing
customers receive the same high level of service they have always experienced.