I’m a few days late to this, but FAST earlier in the week announced the launch of AdMomentum, a new contextual ad system meant to compete with Google’s AdSense.

AdMomentum will let Web site publishers sidestep Google and other online ad networks and have more control in managing and serving ads. It’s also being marketed as a way for companies to keep 100 percent of their ad revenues, rather than sharing them with the likes of Google. Compared with AdSense’s revenue sharing model, AdMomentum will be available as a software license.

This could of course be a double-edged sword, and its value for any business will come down to a question of traffic and current advertising levels. AdMomentum will target SMEs and vertical search sites, which it believes major online ad networks have not sufficiently served.

I’m in the process of scheduling a briefing with FAST and will have more to offer soon. In the meantime, here is more from Search Engine Land and CNet.

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