With its introduction of Keywords on eBay, powered by AdMarketPlace, perhaps the reason for the eBay's less than warm reception to the concept of Froogle has become a little more clear. Since Google now has an alliance with Amazon, this could shape up to be a defining battle in the way ads are deployed to drive sales within shopping sites.

This new eBay ad model does solve half of the problem of the vicious cycle, since the "eyeballs" that belong to the shoppers doing the searching found the banner on eBay, rather than on a third party site.

Side note, I always appreciate good spin -- check out the AdMarketplace boilerplate in the press release announcing Keywords on eBay: "AdMarketplace.net is the Web's first search marketing auction site to deliver graphic ads. Developed by Conducive Corporation, AdMarketplace connects search advertising buyers and sellers through a streamlined, self-service auction environment. AdMarketplace's Founders and Senior Management Team comprise leaders who have helped to build some of the Internet's largest and most successful companies, with a proven track record of success in both traditional and online media."

Small distinction in the delivery of graphic ads v. the plain (but highly effective) text versions delivered by Google AdWords. I guess you take distinction where you find it, and the challenge will be to add value with yet another graphic distraction on eBay pages. For Google, it has always been about relevance and the purity of the search.

I just set up a campaign, so watch for more info on how this works, especially v. AdWords.