WebProNews

Microsoft will be providing the contextual and search advertising to the Wall Street Journal Digital Network, which includes The Wall Street Journal Online, Barrons.com, MarketWatch, and AllThingsD.com.

For Microsoft, that means the Beast of Redmond can add 20 million visitors per month to its advertising network.

“This deal is a significant win for Microsoft for two key reasons," said Brian McAndrews, senior vice president, Advertiser and Publisher Solutions at Microsoft.   First, it makes the extended Microsoft advertising network the premier destination for advertisers interested in reaching financially minded users, as it complements our offering in this vertical through MSN Money and other syndication partners.

“Second, this deal is a strong indicator that we’re gaining significant traction with our advertising platform. The Wall Street Journal Digital Network is one of the largest financial services publishers in a very dynamic vertical segment, and we’re delighted to add it to our portfolio.”

Now, if they could just convince everybody else of that, especially as Google prices increase.

Nothing was said about why the WSJ chose Microsoft over rivals like Google or Yahoo, but recent acquisitions of major companies like aQuantive may have had something to do with it.