Eisenberg Communications To Sell Ads on Galaxy Search Engine

CyberGuard Corp., a provider of enterprise security and e-commerce solutions, signed an agreement with Eisenberg Communications Group (ECG) to sell advertising on CyberGuard’s Galaxy search engine and directory pages.

ECG is a division of 2CAN Media Inc.

The advertising agreement was developed in conjunction with CyberGuard’s eCommerce Service Provider (eSP) Capstone Studio, an Internet graphic design agency, the company said.

“As the Internet continues to grow toward electronic commerce, search engines play an increasingly important role from both an informational and promotional perspective,” said Tom Patterson, CyberGuard’s vice president of electronic commerce. “While we have generated specific ad revenue from Digital Equipment Corp. and others in the past, the success of Eisenberg’s team should make Galaxy a profitable, commercial venture.”

Eisenberg said it plans to generate advertising sales and revenues for Galaxy based not only on the total number of hits, but also on the targeted demographics. eSP Partner Capstone Studio will help target the specific placement of banners within Galaxy’s deep directory structure to ensure effectiveness.

Galaxy, which began operation in 1994, features hundreds of thousands of organized links that have been reviewed prior to their inclusion. This offers users a unique view of the Internet going back to its origins, as well as a more effective way to search for information without the extraneous links, CyberGuard said.

“The return of the Galaxy search engine is a real opportunity for advertisers who have an unprecedented option to purchase search keywords that are unavailable elsewhere,” said Thomas Van Hare, president of Capstone Studio. “Being a member of CyberGuard’s eSP Program gave us access to all of CyberGuard’s offerings, and we believe that Galaxy has a lot of unexplored potential.”

“Galaxy’s directory structure is particularly well-suited for the medical communities and for technical users, general research and education,” said Jeffrey Eisenberg, vice president of business development of 2CAN Media.

Galaxy was originally developed in 1994 through research conducted at the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Consortium (MCC). Galaxy was incorporated into the America Online home page and included in advertising when Internet access was first offered to AOL customers. Presently, Galaxy receives between 250,000 and 400,000 hits per day which represents approximately 50,000 unique user visits to the site. CyberGuard acquired Galaxy as part of TradeWave Corp. in April 1997.