Amazon got a lot of negative press last week for spending too much on the research efforts, while not improving the margins on their core business. Chris Beasley over at SitePoint retells the conversation he had with Amazon reps regarding their new contextual ad network.
Currently the contextual ads on the Amazon are served by Google, and Amazon seems to entertain the idea of being usable interfaces across other companies’ products, and eliminate the middle men when enough critical mass is gathered round Amazon products. A9 licenses Google search, but has additional features as far as presenting the information to the user. A9 Maps uses MapQuest data, but also offers BlockView, theoretically making their proposal to the user a bit more enticing.
As soon as A9 gets enough critical mass, I think that Amazon will go around asking for bids from Google, Yahoo! and similar search providers as far as who can provide the search back-end for the lowest cost. When A9 Maps gets on the Nielsen//NetRatings radar as a significant destination for users in search of maps, Amazon will once again renegotiate the contracts or come up with some homegrown tech.
It looks like the contextual ads on the Amazon network have got enough critical mass, where the company feels they’re better off pocketing the middle-man comission themselves.
