Norwest Venture Partners has invested $18 million in Turn.com, a company that is taking on Google as a search advertiser. “Turn is the world’s first automatic targeting, bidded CPA ad network. Which means advertisers can enjoy benefits that no other advertising network can deliver: bidded CPA pricing to eliminate risk, blended targeting to increase relevance, and automatic targeting to simplify campaign management. The result: better performance and higher return on investment [source].”

Rather than using keyword analysis, Turn.com uses demographic and action factors to determine which ads to set in certain places. “We built the world’s first automatic targeting ad network in response to advertiser and publisher demand for a simplified, lower risk solution for online advertising that also improves relevance and revenue,” stated Jim Barnett, the CEO of Turn.com. “The result is a revolutionary improvement in online advertising.”

Turn.com was founded by a former CEO and Executive Vice President of Product and Technology of AltaVista, Jim Barnett and John Ellis.