Google had been looking to pair off from Performics since it first acquired DoubleClick in March, saying it was clear it didn’t “want to be in the search engine marketing business.”

Paris-based Publicis will take the company over, though the price paid has never been publicly stated. Google will continue to work with Performics as a partner.

Google’s Performics Sale Complete is a post from: The Inquisitr

Performics — brought into the Google family with its acquisition of DoubleClick this past March — has been on the auction block almost from the start. Google DoubleClick Integration Manager Tom Phillips posted about plans for the sale in a blog at the beginning of April, saying:

“It’s clear to us that we do not want to be in the search engine marketing business. Maintaining objectivity in both search and advertising is paramount to Google’s mission and core to the trust we ask from our users. For this reason, we plan to sell the Performics search marketing business to a third party. We believe this will allow us to maintain objectivity and the search marketing business to continue to grow and innovate and serve its customers. ”

After a four-month search, that buyer has been found. Publicis — headquartered in Paris — deals solely in search marketing and working with advertisers to maximize their campaigns.

Google indicated it will continue to work with Performics as a partner.

The deal is expected to be finalized by the third quarter of this year.

Google Sells Off Performics is a post from: The Inquisitr

Google’s original announcement that DoubleClick would start powering Silverlight 2-based ads disappeared shortly after its posting this morning, leading us to question what was up with the deal. Google tells us, though, that the vanishing act was a result of a “glitch” on its web site and was unrelated to the deal itself. It was fixed just a few minutes ago.

So, it’s a go: The new partnership will launch with the monetization of 2,500 hours of Silverlight NBC Olympic content. DoubleClick’s already on-board for ad serving with Flash, RealMedia, and Windows Media, so the addition of Silverlight 2 only makes sense from Google’s perspective — though it’s probably not a positive reflection on Microsoft, with the company turning to its competitor for help on its own product.

Update: Google-Silverlight Deal Rolling Forward is a post from: The Inquisitr

Google’s first attempt at affiliate marketing first appeared in 2006 and launched in March 2007. The CPA (cost per action) network never really took off in a big way, being offered to publishers as a bolt on to the more popular, and far easier to implement Adsense program.

The email sent to users advised that all referral code should be removed prior to the closure, that users should substitute referral units with Adsense units, and reports will be available until the end of August. Also being chopped as part of the announcement is the Google products referral program, so users will no longer be able to run CPA ads for Google products such as Picasa or even Firefox. The help page would indicate that referral payments for Google products may already be suspended.

Although not mentioned in the email (or even linked from the Adsense help page), the likely reason for the closure is the launch of Google Affiliate Network, the rebadged DoubleClick Performics. There could never be enough room in Google for competing affiliate networks, and with Performics offering a superior platform and product choice (not to mention the $3.1 billion paid for the whole of DoubleClick) it was always going to be the winner. In usual lazy Google buys a company then doesn’t integrate it properly for years style, Google users have to apply for a separate account on the Google Affiliate Network, and despite the initial rebranding everything but the front page is still branded Performics. I’ve applied and I’ll report back if I get in so I can do a one to one comparison of the two offerings.

Google announces closure date for Adsense Referral program is a post from: The Inquisitr