But now to make a mark in the field and to expand its network, Microsoft is all set to work with high-quality publishers like financial data provider EDGAR Online. This will be the first non-Microsoft web property to carry adCenter ads.

In the official press release, Microsoft Corporation and EDGAR Online Incorporation has announced a strategic alliance in which the two companies will work together to bring advertising to the EDGAR Online audience and content to the MSN portal.

Brian McAndrews, senior vice president, Advertiser and Publisher Solutions at Microsoft said, “EDGAR Online attracts a highly targeted audience with its deep business and financial content, and coupling that audience with Microsoft’s advertising technologies is going to be a winning combination for advertisers. The inclusion of EDGAR Online as a syndicated advertising partner site and the addition of its content to MSN Money will add value for our users and will help advertisers reach an even broader audience in this highly attractive financial vertical."

On the other hand, Sue Bratone Childs, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, EDGAR Online said, “Microsoft’s advertising technologies are best in class, and we believe this deal will further enhance the experience of our users by ensuring the advertising they see on our site is relevant to their interests. Furthermore, the addition of our financial content to MSN Money is a strategic expansion of our brand and reach, and a win for consumers and advertisers alike."

This step has been taken by Microsoft to ensure a high quality content network to publishers, so that in the long run advertisers will be in the position to achieve better ROI as compared to what they get currently on Google and Yahoo’s Content networks.

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SEC filing documents are at the top of this content list, and they "will be accessible via the ticker and company search function," according to an official statement.  "EDGAR Online content will cover all public companies that file information with the SEC and provide access to the complete database of millions of company, fund and individual filers to facilitate company and financial research at summary and in-depth levels," it promises.

Impressed?  The people behind MSN Money are surely hoping so.  Just six days ago, a comScore report placed Microsoft’s financial site third behind those owned by AOL and Yahoo.  It also demonstrated that the number of unique visitors had dropped between November and December.  Not good.

So we’ll see if the partnership with Edgar creates any changes in that sense.  Meanwhile, Mike Shields writes, "MSN will now become the exclusive seller of text, banner and eventually video ads on Edgar’s own Web site – which, according to officials, reaches 2 million unique user[s] per month."

Both parts of the deal are expected to take effect later this year.