EBay to launch keyword ad system

EBay is to launch keyword advertising - where internet users will be directed to specific auctions linked to words on the web page they are visiting.

Under the plan, site owners hosting the adverts for the online auctioneer will get a slice of the product sale price.

Called AdContext, EBay's new system may prove popular with blog site publishers who would be able to use it as an extra generator of revenue, analysts said.

The technique of contextual advertising is already used by Google and Yahoo.

Google, for example, uses text recognition on its Gmail programme to offer adverts based on the contents of emails.

EBay's chief strategy officer, Michael van Swaaij, unveiled the plan at a conference of software developers in Las Vegas.

"We want to increase the number of times buyers come to particular sites," he said.

Examples cited of how the new system would work included a sports website that would carry links to eBay auctions for particular items of sporting equipment or memorabilia.

EBay is one of the biggest advertisers on both Google and Yahoo and the plan could reduce its reliance on these sites, analysts said.