The online edition of The Wall Street Journal reported today that Yahoo is testing outsourcing it’s search advertising to Google. Several News sources have already picked it up, and everybody seems to think the move by Yahoo to test outsourcing search advertisements to Google is all about snubbing Microsoft. Driving off the aggressive MSFT bid.
As someone who spends most of my day in one of the two outlets, this is the greatest news I have heard in a long time, and it will only be superceded if all Yahoo ads are served through the Google Adwords network. Why you ask? Let’s be honest, for click-through-rates, conversions, and costs per click Yahoo usually is slightly better than Google. However, Google Adwords is not only easier to use than Yahoo! Search Marketing, it also allows advertisers much more control over who sees their ads.
Simply put, Google has better targeting options; from geographically to time of the day Google has countless additional features that Yahoo does not provide. Yahoo is really taking a chance by going public with the test though. Yahoo Search Marketing is already a shaky platform, and this is lets the public know that Yahoo’s solution involves finding another company to handle their search advertisements.
In the event that Yahoo outsources all of it’s search advertising to Google the emerging media of search advertising it will be like having the star who is the most popular in their sport join the team that has the best coaches and management structure. Google makes search advertising easiest in both setup and upkeep, Yahoo draws a large portion of the surfers new to the internet through their partnerships with internet service providers. Together the benefits will be for both advertisers and searchers alike, a smoother experience, and more targeted results. But there is the matter of whenever #1 and #2 get together, how much control can be held by one company before we see an explosion of smaller ad serving services enter the market.
Microsoft saw the move as confrontational and began talking with MySpace about some sort of combined takeover. Aol and Yahoo announced they will be partnering up as well. I seems as the economy tightens and businesses look for more effective ways to reach their prospects online the search and placement advertising servers will be battling it out to see who can rise to the top and be the dominant force.
