Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc., owner of the most-used Internet search engine, agreed to buy Teracent Corp. to gain software that helps online display advertisements better target Web users.

Teracent’s software selects elements of ads, such as images and colors, that can be optimized for users based on criteria such as geographic location and language, Google said today on its blog. The acquisition will probably close this quarter, Google said. The price wasn’t disclosed.

“This technology can help advertisers get better results from their display ad campaigns,” Google said. “In turn, this enables publishers to make more money from their ad space and delivers Web users better ads and more ad-funded Web content.”

Google has bought companies to build its display-ad business as it looks for growth beyond text-based ads that run next to search results. The company paid $3.2 billion last year for display-ad agency DoubleClick Inc. and said this month that it plans to buy mobile-display ad company AdMob Inc. for $750 million.

“They’re certainly showing their aggression and interest in this space,” said Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst with Janco Partners Inc. in Greenwood Village, Colorado, who rates the stock a buy and doesn’t own it. “It’s almost in some ways, I would say, a little catch-up. Now they are catching up very well.”

Teracent, founded in 2006, is based in San Mateo, California.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, rose $12.39 to $582.35 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading at 4 p.m. New York time. The shares have risen 89 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Womack in San Francisco at bwomack1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 23, 2009 16:11 EST