Online retailers are usually focused on selling merchandise, and that's it. But with retail struggling, merchants have focused on selling something new: ad space.
A handful of retailers, including Target, Wal-Mart, and CSN Stores, have patterned with Google to add AdSense paid links to their pages, according to Ad Age. Google declined to say how many retail clients it has, but said more and more retailers are signing up.
A website like Wal-Mart could profit handsomely from paid links. Walmart.com had 31.8 million unique visitors in October, making it the 24th-largest website in the U.S., with similar traffic to major ad sellers like Disney.
The strangest factor about adding text links is the possibility of a competitor's ads appearing on the page. If targeted correctly, Google could serve up ads that present consumers with better offers at other sites. Retailers have the option to block certain kinds of ads from appearing, but some chose not to, according to the report.
