Investing Internet Technology Windows Internet Tech. You might think so, to read the descriptions of these popular marketing agreements in trade and financial publications in recent weeks. But there's no question that the portal deal is changing. There are very viable vertical alternatives.
Companies seeking portal partnerships bring more to the table.
And, in many cases, the deals don't last as long as they once did. If a company is young, needs to raise its visibility, needs to keep competitors from grabbing the portal space, and needs to generate a high volume of sales or traffic, Jellen said a deal with one of the big portals makes sense. These kinds of deals tend to work best for clients that are in early life-cycle stages. Because of these concerns, second-tier portals and vertical sites are becoming the partners of choice for many companies. It's been way too lopsided toward portals.