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Ads from Internet search leader Google Inc. now appear in the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, it was confirmed Monday, as the search giant continues to dip its toe into new advertising backwaters.
Over the last few days, Google has been buying up space in the paper, and filling it with classified-style advertisements from Chicago-area businesses that also advertise on Googles Internet sites, according to a source familiar with the initiative.
The column of ads in each edition is topped off by the text “Ads by Google.”
By doing so, the company, based in Mountain View, Calif., is trying to expand the potential audience for its advertisers beyond just Google Web sites.
Finding a new stage for its advertisers, in theory, makes Google a more attractive advertising partner than other rival Internet destinations.
Advertising is the lifeblood for Internet portals, as Google and major rivals Yahoo Inc., Time Warner Inc.s America Online and Microsoft Corp. try to serve as a one-stop destination for many different, and free, Internet features.
The Google/Sun-Times partnership is also Googles first with a newspaper, a unique combination indeed. As their audience has increased, Internet portals have siphoned away a significant amount of ad revenues from newspapers.
The newspaper ads are part of a larger initiative begun a few months ago with “Ads by Google” appearing in a handful of technology magazines.