April 9th, 2008
Yahoo! to Test Google Adsense; Microsoft Somewhat Displeased
By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
Wednesday Yahoo! announced that it would be starting a limited trial of Google AdSense for Search service. This would deliver Google ads alongside Yahoo!’s search results, rather than Yahoo! ads. Yep, essentially Yahoo! is trying outsourcing Search Ads to Google.
It’s clear that this move is one of the alternatives Yahoo! is looking at in response to Microsoft’s unsolicited takeover bid. As you may recall Microsoft pretty much threw down the gauntlet, giving Yahoo! three weeks before Microsoft will start what sounds like a hostile takeover attempt.
According to Yahoo!’s press release,
The test will apply only to traffic from yahoo.com in the U.S. and will not include Yahoo!’s extended network of affiliate or premium publisher partners. The test is expected to last up to two weeks and will be limited to no more than 3% of Yahoo! search queries.
As previously announced, Yahoo!’s board of directors is exploring strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value, including exploration of potential commercial business arrangements. The Company noted that the testing does not necessarily mean that Yahoo! will join the AdSense for Search program or that any further commercial relationship with Google will result. The Company further stated that it would not comment on the nature or timing of any potential relationship.
To say Microsoft was not pleased is an understatement. In fact, they shot off their own press release, with Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel saying:
“Any definitive agreement between Yahoo! and Google would consolidate over 90% of the search advertising market in Google’s hands. This would make the market far less competitive, in sharp contrast to our own proposal to acquire Yahoo! We will assess closely all of our options. Our proposal remains the only alternative put forward that offers Yahoo! shareholders full and fair value for their shares, gives every shareholder a vote on the future of the company, and enhances choice for content creators, advertisers, and consumers.”
We Say: If anyone thought the drama was decreasing over Microsoft - Yahoo!, it sure ain’t.
Alpha-geek says:
Well, well. Look who’s worried about competition & monopoly NOW! Karma..it’s a funny thing.
April 10th, 2008 at 3:47 am
LZW says:
Why don’t these companies just get out of the internet search business altogether and become advertising agencies? That is what they truly want to be.
Luckily google ads are pretty easy to block with ad filters yet I remember a day when people thought google was cool… Then google ads started showing up on some web sites and they would cover or overlap the links on the web page so you could not use it, all you could do is click on a google ad.
Maybe they fixed that problem by now but I just blocked them from that point.
The more a company shifts its business model to advertising revenue, the more unstable it will be I believe. Because if a company has no real products and is entirely driven by market forces, when the fluctuates, so does their stock. When they go broke, all they can do is cook the books or wait for a bail out from the federal government.
Lucky google is retaining everyone’s personal data and they can always sell that off to other ad agencies if times get hard.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Jake says:
I would very much hope that they do consolidate 90% or more of the advertising market so that search advertising would be so much easier to manage as an advertiser.
currently, whenever there are changes, we have to log into all the ad services and then change them individually — that’s a lof of work!!
in terms of price fixing and monopoly issues, we can vote MS into the panel of “Protection of Search Advertiser Association” =)
April 13th, 2008 at 8:40 pm