BEST OF ECT NEWS
The Search for Advertisers in the Podcasting World

Audio and video search engine provider PodZinger.com has launched an advertising platform that allows content providers a free opt-in revenue-sharing program.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based company offers a two-part service. On its one-year-old consumer site, computer users can search podcast content for audio and video blogs.

Starting Thursday, the advertising service will deliver search results to its advertising partners. The search results are categorized from aggregate consumer usage based on Internet radio, online blogging sites and conferences.

"We go into the words in audio and video and convert it to text," Alex Laats, PodZinger CEO, told MacNewsWorld. "To enable an audio and video search on PodZinger is analogous to what Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) does for text searching."

However, the PodZinger search engine is different from search engines available on Google and Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), which are not conducive to searching for audio and video content because they find only title and summary data.

"Their search terms are too limited," explained Laats.

A cottage industry has developed around a demand for online audio and video broadcasts on the Internet, Laats noted. The driving force behind this demand is the popularity of iPods.

Uncharted Waters

PodZinger.com's search engine accomplishes a dual purpose, explained Laats. One, it provides a system to deliver highly relevant advertising results based on words and related search data. Two, it provides a 50-50 revenue share to content creators.

The PodZinger search engine uses an embedded player window to display relevant ads based on the search results.

The technology does not place any adware elements on the computers of those who use the search engine, Laats said. Also, ad-blocking components of browsers such as Mozilla.org's Firefox and various pop-up blockers will not interfere with the advertising displays because they are delivered within the PodZinger search engine.

One of the features on the PodZinger search engine is the ability to click on an item in the search list and have the entire item played in the viewer. This creates a tie-in to the new advertising platform.

The "jump to" feature gives advertisers, podcasters, or any content creator an opportunity to deliver brand messages connected to the content.

Ad Platform

PodZinger officials hope to solve two growing problem for podcasters: One challenge is getting their content discovered by those who otherwise would not know about it. The second challenge is figuring out how to generate revenue from the podcast once it is posted online.

"Our advertising platform offers content providers new capabilities. We expect that this concept will be successful in the podcasting space," Laats said.

"Advertisers should not have to wander into the world of online audio and video with the blind hope of finding their target audience," he added.

The new platform is designed so advertisers can craft their campaigns based on real information about consumer intent and usage, aggregated over a broad base of users, he said.