Yellow Pages ties up for keyword bidding

<P>Yellow Pages has strengthened its suite of online marketing products after partnering with WebDNA, a local tech firm developing a tool enabling advertisers to co-ordinate bids for keywords across multiple search engines from a single platform. </P> <P>The DNASearch technology, which has been in use for around a year, eliminates the need for media agencies to manage individual bids on each search engine. It can also cover portals that use simplified and traditional Chinese characters.</P> <P>"They have the strength in the technology, we have the strength in offering a one-stop solution and the channel in the marketplace. It's a logical way of combining our strengths," said Joseph Yii, VP of e-business for PCCW Directories, which runs Yellow Pages in Hong Kong.</P> <P>The deal is the most recent step in a strategy Yellow Pages initiated two years ago to develop its own internet marketing products in order to entice advertisers from its print directory to start promoting themselves online.  <BR>Yellow Pages will provide client servicing for WebDNA, while the two companies will work together developing more search marketing tools, Yii added.</P>