Azoogle buys Bazaar

The online advertising market is beginning to look a bit like the storied O.K. Corral, with online ad-slingers showing up to the standoff with CPMs, CPAs, CPCs and other cost-per-something acronyms to battle for ad dollars.

With a number of young start-ups entering the fight with new weapons, venture-backed AzoogleAds Inc. has upped its arsenal with SEM - or search engine marketing - through the acquisition of Bazaar Advertising Solutions Inc.

"I think it's very competitive right now," said Mike Sprouse, chief marketing officer for AzoogleAds. "It seems like every day I read about the space heating up. We're excited from our standpoint because we feel like the ones who will stand out."

New York-based AzoogleAds, which was founded in 2000, delivers integrated marketing, including network and site-specific advertising, online promotions, data-capture and co-registration programs, campaign management and advertising measurement. Its affiliate marketing and online services are based on the cost-per-action model. Advertisers only pay for advertising space when consumers respond to the ad, as opposed to the traditional model, where advertisers pay for space regardless of the outcome.

But, with the acquisition of Bazaar, AzoogleAds will expand its offering to provide a search engine management component that will allow their customers a better position online. Bazaar is a San Francisco-based search engine management and advertising company. It focuses on lead generation through developing and applying its Web-search advertising technology that optimizes key words for clients.

Sprouse said the company is aware that it may be a prime candidate for a big-time acquisition as several online ad companies have seen recently, especially in the wake of Yahoo Inc.'s agreement last month to acquire closely held online-advertising company BlueLithium for about $300 million and its $680 million deal in April to purchase the online ad exchange Right Media Inc. Google Inc. agreed in April to pay $3.1 billion for online ad services company DoubleClick Inc., which would be the largest ad network deal to date if the deal officially closes.