If there was any lingering doubt over Microsoft's ambitions, their latest adCenter announcement makes it clear they're aiming right at AdWords. Note that, at least for now, adCenter's Quality Score doesn't actually effect where ads appear in search results (unlike AdWords scoring, which dictates placement and CPC), it will simply give advertisers a better idea of how competitive their ads and landing pages are for certain keywords.

Bing's announced some big changes to their paid search advertising policy that will allow the use of trademarks in ad text and as keywords for triggering ads, closely mirroring Google's update last year. These new changes go into effect tomorrow (3/3/11), and apply only to ads targeting the US or Canada.

There's a small but significant change being made to AdWords this week you should be aware of.

In a recent, controversial blog post Shawn Hogan has alleged that eBay program managers manipulated him into employing "grey area" techniques by assuring him there wouldn't be consequences for breaking their terms of service. After agreeing, he says managers then began suggesting different fraudulent methods he could employ, and even ways to hide from internal compliance investigators.