s main business isnt auctioning off advertising. If say, AOL had a relationship with Nike (NKE), would track the performance of that ad"how many times it was clicked on, how many times it was served, what sites people who clicked on the ad had recently visited. But it would not pair up Nike and AOL.

even with a Google-owned , publishers can still sell their display ads themselves and set the prices however they want. Advertisers arent going to Google because someone is twisting their arm, says Hallerman. Similarly, the advertisers and publishers wont stay with unless they find it beneficial.

The threat is that Google could use what it knows about what publishers are charging for their ads"based on its ad tracking"to undercut prices. For example, people fear Google could tell advertisers: I know you are paying $5 per click on AOL. Advertise on YouTube and Ill let you have the same ad for less.

Google could offer to waive all the fees for customers, providing they either allow Google to deliver search ads on their properties or, if the client is an advertiser, buy search ads from Google.

Google has a lot to lose by bullying advertisers or publishers"about $3.1 billion. Without the relationships, isnt worth nearly as much to Google. It will want to play nice.

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