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The Web advertising world is rapidly consolidating to Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo — not just in search, but in the tools used to run large, automated campaigns. You'd think this would instigate a pricing war. It has, says MediaPost, but one that benefits the search giants, not their advertiser customers. As advertisers cobble together packages of ads to blanket the Web, using ad-placing tools from one company to manage bids on others, the three competitors could get a peek at each other's rate cards. As soon as Microsoft learns what Google is making off specific keywords, it could, in theory, raise its rates to match. Advertisers might protest the misuse of their private business data. But would they really even know it was happening — and if they did, what choice would they have but to switch to a competitor with similar practices?