Microsoft signs US newspaper advertising deal

Microsoft has signed a new deal with Advance Publications to allow advertisers in the Advance Internet network to sell ads across its online properties.

The deal between the US newspaper publishing firm and the software giant will see Microsoft’s search and display ads appear on 30 local Advance US newspaper sites, according to reports.

These include sites for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, The Star-Ledger in Newark and The Birmingham News in Birmingham.

Microsoft hopes the new partnership will help it compete with Google in the local newspaper and search advertising markets, particularly after its previous attempt with Sidewalk failed.

The deal will see Advance Internet become a certified reseller of the Microsoft Media Network, which includes Bing, offering local advertisers more access to online users.

Brian Handly, general manager of PubCenter at Microsoft, said: “The local perspective that Advance Internet will be incredibly helpful as we develop our reseller efforts. We are excited to expand content and search ads into Advance Internet’s portfolio of regional web sites.”