Canadian based engine Mamma.com announced today that they plan to add an auction style component to their pay-per-click advertising program. The change is in response to advertiser demand for additional choices in how to buy paid advertising on their search engine. The move will produce additional revenue for Mamma and will allow advertisers to have more control over how and where their contextual ads are placed in the Mamma.com network.

Mamma.com currently uses a flat rate per-per-click option known as Mamma Classifieds, which are displayed as the top three search results above the Mamma produced metasearch results. "Mamma Classifieds continues to be an outstanding product that provides keyword advertisers access to top three placement on Mamma.com," said Guy Faure. "We believe no other large search engine in the market place is able to offer this same type of exclusive placement. By limiting the number of advertisers on the results page, we also believe this directly increases the quality of exposure advertisers receive, as well as positively effecting the user experience on our page."

Advertisers will have the choice to continue purchasing flat rate advertising if they choose not to bid on higher positioned ads. Advertisers will be listed by price, with higher priced bids outranking fixed rate listings.

Mamma Classifieds also introduced several new tools and upgrades to their paid advertising service. A keyword suggestion tool has been added to the campaign management system along with traffic and bid estimators, an auto bid adjuster and an API service for search marketers. The new features will be added to Mamma's current geo-targeting, ROI analysis and live customer service offerings.

The shift moves Mamma.com more in line with other traditional paid advertising programs offered by first tier engines like Google AdWords and Yahoo!'s Overture. However, unlike the larger programs, Mamma will attempt to offer both flat-rate and bid based advertising side-by-side, giving advertisers the choice of how they wish to manage their campaigns. "Adjusting the keyword pricing to allow for flat rate and auction based pricing permits advertisers to select the system that best fits their individual needs, ensuring they will maximize their return on investment, and this is our utmost priority," added Faure.

Learn more about Mamma.com's new advertising program.

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