WebMasters Network has announced a partnership with the Web search and index company AltaVista.
AltaVista will today launch altavista.co.nz, which will offer New Zealand searches. The companies say it will be "a dedicated New Zealand site with over five million indexed pages."
The partnership also means that local companies will be able to advertise on AltaVista sites with "much greater ease and accountability than previously offered"
Deborah Davenport, manager of WebMasters Network, describes the deal as "a coup for online advertising in New Zealand - this is a significant milestone for the industry as it matures."
She says when AltaVista was launched last year in Australia, its advertising inventory sold out rapidly, and "having seen the new product AltaVista are offering, we expect a similar situation will eventuate here in New Zealand."
The partnership provides a boost to WebMasters Network's aim since its relaunch last September to position itself as New Zealand's "first specialist in representing premier websites to advertisers and advertising agencies, offering ad serving, monitoring and reporting capabilities."