MSN Paid-Search Launched in France and Singapore

According to the New York Times Microsoft have announced the launch of it's very own ad service in France and Singapore. It has been imaginatively named MSN adCenter and MSN Keywords. According to Danny Sullivan and reported in the New York Times "They will definitely raise the bar on what Google and Yahoo have to provide." U.S. testing of adCenter is set to begin in October.

The Microsoft Press Release confirms that the new service will make it easier for advertisers to optimize their campaigns and reach a specific audience. The service is reported to include the following tools:

•Keyword Selection allows advertisers to indicate whom they want to reach based on geographic location, gender, age range, time of day and day of week, and suggests keywords based on the desired audience.

•Site Analyzer assists advertisers by suggesting keywords based on the content of their Web site.

•Audience Profiler provides advertisers with an expected profile of those customers who are most likely to search for specific keywords.

•Cost Estimator helps advertisers remain within their budget by estimating rank, traffic and cost per month per keyword.

•Campaign Optimization allows advertisers to respond quickly and decisively throughout the campaign to easily refine budget allocations and keywords, as well as apply targeting filters such as geographic, demographic and dayparting.

•Post Sales Audience Intelligence & Reporting provides advertisers with detailed reports on campaign performance and audiences reached including click-through rate, estimated position and spending levels.

(Via Paid Content)