Google to launch ad service for publishers

The new Ad Manager service, which a limited number of Web sites are testing, will provide the ad serving free, where companies such as DoubleClick have traditionally charged Web publishers to serve up their ads. Even when they sell their own ads, publishers usually rely on such ad-serving companies to actually insert the ads in a Web page when a consumer pulls it up.

Google, Mountain View, Calif., is hoping that Ad Manager users will agree to carry some ads Google sells in ad spots on their Web sites they haven't filled themselves. Google would take a commission on revenue from any ads it sells.

The move comes as the Internet giant looks to expand its online ad offerings beyond the small text ads that run alongside Web search results and other content, which today represent the bulk of Google's revenue, and amid fears that a consumer slowdown could spill over into online ads.

Google says it won't require Ad Manager users to carry the ads from Google's AdSense system, and they can also choose to fill the spots with ads from other online ad networks in cases where they generate more money for the publisher. The Ad Manager service will handle formats including graphical display, video and text ads.