- Mike Shields, Mediaweek

NEW YORK After receiving approval on Tuesday from the European Commission -- clearing the final hurdle in its acquisition of DoubleClick -- Google executives said that the company is set to become even more aggressive in the online display advertising business, despite its numerous forays in the space to date.

Google, which moved to buy the Web ad technology pioneer in April 2007 for $3.1 billion, had previously received approval from the Federal Trade Commission last December, leaving the EU as its final roadblock to completing the transaction. Word came early Tuesday that such approval had been granted.

During a previously scheduled press event in New York, Google executives said the new Google-DoubleClick combination would enable the search giant to make major strides in the display side of the online ad business, where it still trails portals like Yahoo and MSN, among others.

Until now, according to Penry Price, vp, advertising sales, North America, Google has only "dabbled in display" advertising. That’s in part because Google hasn't offered third party ad serving -- DoubleClick's core offering. As a result, said Price, Google's ad network "hasn't been on par with other networks" -- despite its significant size.

While DoubleClick doesn't bring with it any display inventory of its own for Google to sell, it should deepen Google’s partnerships with numerous advertisers. "[The deal] will leapfrog us into that space," said Price.

Eileen Naughton, director, media platforms, echoed Price's comments about Google's position in display ads, saying that the company is "late to the game."

"We have chosen not to get aggressive in that game," she said.

That choice, according to Naughton, has been driven in part by a lack of standards in ad tracking practices, such as how cookies are implemented via online display ads.

Yet Google's stance on Tuesday -- that it's been sitting out the display business until it acquired DoubleClick and got a better handle on standards -- doesn't mesh with the company's recent activity. Over the past several years, Google has launched multiple products focused on display and video advertising, including Gadget Ads, which allows brands to distribute widgets across the Web, as well as various display and video offerings geared for its AdSense product.

But Google's position may also be due to its lack of progress in online display advertising to date. Last week at the American Association of Advertising Agencies Media Conference in Orlando, Fla., Margaret Clerkin, managing partner, MindShare Interaction, observed that when it comes to display ads, Google is "far from being the player they are in the search space."

Meanwhile, besides discussing the ramifications of GoogleClick, executives touched on several other issues at Tuesday's press event, including Microsoft's recently launched Engagement Mapping initiative. That new product promises to give marketers a better idea of how individual Web ads contribute to a campaign's overall effectiveness, rather than just crediting the last ad that is clicked upon (which is often a search ad).