Google, salesforce enter ad alliance

Google and salesforce.com announced that the two firms have formed a strategic global alliance.

Under the deal, salesforce.com will roll out a new version of its service, allowing customers to distribute their online ads through Google.

Saleforce.com's upgraded service is set up to track any customer referrals generated by Google's ads.

From within the Salesforce site, users can bid for keywords in Google.

Salesforce will automatically generate the HTML for a "landing page," so that when a prospective customer arrives on the landing page, it asks them for their details and automatically generates a sales lead in salesforce.com.

Research firm Ovum said the two firms may offer more services in the future, and that the partnership is just a "first step."

"Some may see this as an anti-climax, but clearly this is just a first step and there will be further steps," David Bradshaw, principal analyst at Ovum said. "Google and salesforce aren't saying what's next on their roadmap, though with a six-month development cycle, there clearly must be more coming."

Bradshaw also said the updated saleforce service "makes perfect sense," making it easier for smaller companies to buy, use and monitor returns from Google Adwords.