NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Google Inc. (GOOG) is testing an online-classifieds service similar to Craigslist.org that it will support with keyword-based advertising, according a person familiar with the matter.
The service, called "Google Base," according to screenshots of in-development Web pages circulating on the Internet, will allow Web users to share information about events, housing and jobs and sell products, among other things.
It remains unclear when the classifieds service will be available and whether Google will charge transaction or other fees, said the source, who heads a New York search marketing company.
But he said the service is part of a push at Google to expand its own menu of Web-based services that can carry keyword ads, but don't require Google to share revenue with third-party publisher sites. Such services include shopping-comparison site Froogle and its Gmail Web-based email service. On these pages, Google can place targeted ads based an analysis of page content, something it now does mainly for publishers on its AdSense network.
"They want to push their content business," the source said. "The content targeting is going to be driving the future of Google's growth" once search itself matures and growth there plateaus.
Google spokespeople didn't immediately return calls seeking comment. Bloggers were speculating that the company will talk about Google Base at a customer event being held at Google headquarters Tuesday dubbed Zeitgeist.
In a purported Google Base screenshot posted online at http://www.seweso.com/blog/, Google invites Web users to "Post your items on Google." It goes on to say "Google Base is Google's database into which you can add all types of content. We'll host your content and make it searchable online for free."
Examples of database items offered suggest a service that will be considerably broader than that of Craigslist, a popular Web site 25%-owned by eBay Inc. (EBAY) that allows people to post and view ads for everything under the sun, all for free. The content items named in the screenshot were: a description of a party planning service, articles on current events, a listing for a used car and a database of protein structures.
A second screenshot showed what appeared to be a form for people seeking to post a housing listing, with space to include details like price, property type and number of bedrooms. There is a "price type" drop-down menu showing "fixed price," raising the question of whether Google will also hold auctions. There was also a tool for adding pictures to a listing.
The entry of Google into the online classifieds business become a serious challenge to Craigslist and eBay. In a research note Tuesday, Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck said Google's service would be "a large incremental positive for Google and a large incremental negative for eBay."
It could also hurt job sites like Yahoo Inc.'s (YHOO) HotJobs and Monster Worldwide Inc. (MNST) and real-estate brokers. Newspapers, which observers fear are being forced to cut ad prices because of competition from Craigslist, might also feel a pinch.
Riva Richmond, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5670; riva.richmond@dowjones.com
