AOL Grubbing for Web Ad Dollars

Time Warner(AOL Quote) is gunning for more online ad dollars.

On Monday, its AOL unit unveiled a new set of tools that will allow advertisers more options in placing ads on the Internet. In a move that resembles recent strategic shifts by Yahoo!(YHOO Quote), AOL will now place more of an emphasis on allowing advertisers to place ads on sites beyond its own sites. And like Yahoo!, AOL will bank on a combination of ad networks and behavioral targeting technologies to do this.

Called Platform A, the new offering will tie together AOL properties like the Advetising.com ad network, the recently acquired TACODA and Third Screen Media, among others. It will reach 90% of the domestic online audience, according to research firm comScore.

The shift is part of AOL's transition from a subscription driven model, where users pay for access, to one driven by the booming Internet ad market. "The realignment marks the final stage in AOL's transition from an access business to a global, ad-supported Web company," the company said in a press release.

As part of the transition, the company also announced that it would move its headquarters from Dulles, Va., to New York, which it called "the center of the media advertising marketplace."

Shares of Time Warner slipped 2.19% to $18.23 in afternoon trading on Monday.