Google's Mad Dash

And while it is thrilled about being able to link search and display advertising, Google is not yet clear on where using search queries to target display ads would cause a breach of privacy. Talking about the possibility of such a product, Brin said, "Anything along those lines would have to -- anyway, I don't know. I think there are quite a few challenges with such a plan with respect to how we feel about privacy."

Google's rush to acquire is important for investors because it means the search giant may not be fully aware of the pitfalls it faces. For one thing, many of DoubleClick's customers may not be happy supplying data, such as the rates they charge for ads, to Google, which can share the data with competitors and is itself a competitor of sorts. "While we believe this deal is more about relationships on the advertiser side, we caution that there is a risk of DoubleClick losing significant relationships on the publisher side as a result of the deal," Pitz wrote, highlight a fear that Google seemed to gloss over during its call.

Given that it doesn't seem to have the finer points of its display thrust sorted out, Google is banking on its broader overall philosophy of Internet advertising for guidance. "Since Google's inception, it has always been our intention to present users with highly targeted, useful advertisements when appropriate -- ads that unobtrusively complement users experience," Susan Wojcicki, Google's vice president of product management, posted on the company's blog Friday, in announcing the acquisition.

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