Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt is already signaling that Doubleclick’s Performics division (which it is acquiring as part of the $3.1 billion cash buy-out arrangement slated to execute later this year) may very well get spun out or sold off.  In fact, it appears that Google has little interest in operating the company’s marketing services division. 

The Performics division consists of 3 key services aimed at advertisers: customer acquisition (via a narrow cost-per-action network of loyalty shopping “affiliate” sites and “pure performance-based media arbitrage"), search services (paid search marketing and search engine optimization) and media buying (helping advertisers make strategic decisions on where to buy media, how and why… then buying media and optimizing campaigns).

Author and entrepreneur John Battelle questions if it “makes sense” for Google to own “a company that makes its entire business in optimizing Web sites to do better in Google.” Battelle suggests this puts Google into the SEO, SEM business.  A “loud and vocal” community, says he (heh, heh… I think that’s code for ”bullshit“).

Schmidt replied, “We’ve not yet made that decision… we’re going to look into that” when pressed for answers on how this fits in with Google’s long term plan.  What might Jason Calacanis have to say about this I wonder?

With the addition of Performics (a unit being all but completely ignored by analysts and perhaps with good reason???), Google could begin to resemble aQuantive (AQNT) with a twist—Google could carefully balance self-service ad management tools (aimed at advertisers direct AND agencies) with high end marketing services (via its Performics unit which looks a lot like AQNT’s AvenueA).

This serves all advertisers… those who value self-service scale and those who need full blown agency services.  Many are suggesting that this isn’t possible but I beg to differ.

There’s much buzz about Valueclick (VCLK) being ripe for the picking now that Doubleclick is off the table.  This speculation is mis-guided and it’s important to understand why.  aQuantive becomes of more interest given its similarities (Performics is to DCLK as AvenueA/Razorfish is to AQNT).  But this relies on Google holding onto Performics.  Hmm.