A Walk Through the Google Search Factory

Google gave an example of how this twist is meant to benefit readers, publishers and advertisers alike. When Dodge markets a new truck that features a larger payload and new safety features, Google works with the advertiser to place ads on sites where readers may be looking for information of payload sizes and safety.

Google can also fine-tune the results, helping advertisers track in real time how, say, rising gas prices are affecting demand for the truck -- something that standard demographic data can't produce.

The company is working more closely with larger advertisers, having conducted 100 day-long training sessions with major companies that are looking to advertise more on the Net, said Tim Armstrong, Google's vice president of ad sales. "We want to teach the marketers how to fish," he said.

But Google also took pains to point out that it's helping the smaller advertisers as well, giving them low-cost access to the same sites they are helping the major advertisers to place their ads on.