Some of you might recall Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick last March, where the search engine giant also acquired Performics, an affiliate and search marketing business.

When the deal was confirmed, Search Engine marketers started to panic. How could a search engine with the power of Google, own and operate a search engine marketing company? A significant conflict of interest.

Well news just in, is that Google has offloaded the Performics search marketing division to the Publicis Group. The announcement will be met with a collective cheer from search engine marketers around the world.

Google has suggested they would sell the Performics search marketing division for some time. It was a case of “when?” that search marketers were concerned with.

While the sale is good news, the fact that the new owner is closely aligned with Google already, might leave some in the industry still crying foul.

Google has been working with the Publicis Group for about a year, with a formal announcement of the partnership in Jan 2008. Publicis CEO described the partnership:

“We are sharing our information to help Google develop the right platforms and Google is sharing technology to help us develop the best services for our clients.”

While an immediate “conflict of interest” is averted through the sale of Performics, the relationship between Google and Publicis could still pose some issues for other agencies in the SEM space.

While I don’t really think Google would unfairly leverage their Publicis relationship, I’m keen to hear your thoughts? Do you really think Google will provide Publicis with an unfair advantage?

Share your thoughts below…