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Tag: google yahoo deal

  • Do You Welcome A Yahoo-Google Deal?

    Yahoo announced its Q3 earnings on Tuesday, and also took the opportunity to reveal that it has entered into a search and advertising deal with Google.

    Do you look forward to seeing Yahoo search results powered by Google? Let us know in the comments.

    This isn’t the all-encompassing deal Yahoo was aiming for years ago ahead of its “search alliance” with Microsoft. Nor does it have the exclusivity that the Yahoo/Microsoft alliance had until recently. Google now just gives Yahoo more options and exists in addition to Yahoo’s relationship with Microsoft.

    Yahoo said in a press release, “In October, the Company reached an agreement with Google that provides Yahoo with additional flexibility to choose among suppliers of search results and ads. Google’s offerings complement the search services provided by Microsoft, which remains a strong partner, as well as Yahoo’s own search technologies and ad products.”

    The deal expires at the end of 2018 as long as it gains approval from the U.S. Department of Justice and regulators in India and the European Union.

    An SEC filing about the deal explains:

    Pursuant to the Services Agreement, Google will provide Yahoo with search advertisements through Google’s AdSense for Search service (“AFS”), web algorithmic search services through Google’s Websearch Service, and image search services. The results provided by Google for these services will be available to Yahoo for display on both desktop and mobile platforms. Yahoo may use Google’s services on Yahoo’s owned and operated properties (“Yahoo Properties”) and on certain syndication partner properties (“Affiliate Sites”) in the United States (U.S.), Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Middle East, Africa, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Australia and New Zealand.

    Under the Services Agreement, Yahoo has discretion to select which search queries to send to Google and is not obligated to send any minimum number of search queries. The Services Agreement is non-exclusive and expressly permits Yahoo to use any other search advertising services, including its own service, the services of Microsoft Corporation or other third parties.Google will pay Yahoo a percentage of the gross revenues from AFS ads displayed on Yahoo Properties or Affiliate Sites. The percentage will vary depending on whether the ads are displayed on U.S. desktop sites, non-U.S. desktop sites or on the tablet or mobile phone versions of the Yahoo Properties or its Affiliate Sites. Yahoo will pay Google fees for requests for image search results or web algorithmic search results.

    In April, Yahoo and Microsoft announced an amendment to their search partnership, saying they “reaffirmed commitments made by both companies in the original 2009 agreement, while implementing changes to keep the partnership strong and productive”. Both companies, the announcement said, are “committed to maximizing the alliance.”

    The changes gave Yahoo increased flexibility to enhance its own search experience on any platform. The partnership is non-exclusive for both desktop and mobile. Yahoo would continue to serve Bing ads and search results for most of tis desktop search traffic, it said.

    They said the changes also offered an increased “agility and sales focus.” Microsoft would be the exclusive salesforce for ads delivered by its own Bing Ads platform, and Yahoo would continue to be the exclusive salesforce for its Yahoo Gemini ads platform.

    GeekWire shares a quote from Microsoft on the Yahoo’s Google news: “We remain committed to the Yahoo syndication partnership and will continue to serve the majority of Yahoo traffic as outlined in our contract extension. Yahoo is a valued partner and we look forward to continuing to serve our advertising customers through the Bing Ads marketplace.”

    Yahoo CEO (and former Googler) Marissa Mayer said during a conference call discussing the company’s earnings report (via SeekingAlpha’s transcript):

    As part of this process, we’re going to be investing in understanding how to balance the marketplace of our search queries in terms of how to provide the best results as well as the best monetization, and so we see some opportunities in terms of providing coverage of more ads on more queries. We also see some opportunities in different international regions to just achieve a different blending.

    And I would also say we’re very confident in our Yahoo! Gemini platform for search. And when we look at mobile we actually, as you know, have a different view in terms of what mobile search should be over time and what the best possible ways to monetize that are and really provide value to advertisers. And so for us the Yahoo! Gemini platform is really where we want to invest particularly on mobile in new formats, new ideas, and so I think you should expect to see a lot of our mobile traffic move to Yahoo! Gemini and for us to basically develop a technology that does a good job competitively balancing both the Bing and Google opportunities in terms of monetization.

    Obviously a deal would mean that businesses using Google for advertising and optimizing for Google search stand to gain increased visibility across Yahoo properties where it chooses to show their ads and content. It will be interesting to see how Yahoo uses Google in conjunction with Bing and its own stuff.

    Under Yahoo’s agreement with Microsoft, the latter powers at least 51% of Yahoo searches with Bing Ads on the desktop. On mobile, where Yahoo utilizes its own algorithm, Yahoo has more flexibility to deliver the mix its feels as best.

    I don’t know about Yahoo’s mobile search share, but Google recently said that mobile has overtaken desktop in terms of search volume worldwide.

    The Yahoo Google deal could fall apart just as their original deal did years ago if regulators don’t like the look of it, but it’s hard to imagine the companies aren’t confident about their ability to gain that approval. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with that.

    Do you think a Yahoo/Google deal will be good for businesses? Share your thoughts in the comments.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Google And Yahoo Are Now Working Together On Ads

    Yahoo and Google are now working together on ads. Yahoo announced in a post on its corporate blog that it has teamed up with the search giant on contextual advertising.

    The two companies have signed a global, non-exclusive agreement for Yahoo to display contextual display ads from Google on various Yahoo properties and “certain co-branded sites” using Google’s AdSense for Content and AdMob advertising offerings.

    “By adding Google to our list of world-class contextual ads partners, we’ll be able to expand our network, which means we can serve users with ads that are even more meaningful,” says Yahoo in the post. “For our users, there won’t be a noticeable difference in how or where ads appear. More options simply mean greater flexibility. We look forward to working with all of our contextual ads partners to ensure we’re delivering the right ad to the right user at the right time.”

    It wasn’t that long ago that Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt expressed interest in partnering with Yahoo, years after the companies tried to partner on a search advertising deal, which was shut down by the threat of regulation. Yahoo ended up partnering with BIng in that space, and so far, this new announcement will do nothing to change that.

    Again, this is a non-exclusive agreement, and Yahoo is still partners with Microsoft (in addition to others) in this area too.

    “Every day, people turn to Yahoo! for their daily habits — like search, weather, news or more. At Yahoo!, we’re focused on doing everything we can to make the user experience inspiring and engaging. One way we do that is by providing relevant and well-targeted content — whether that be editorial or advertising content,” says Yahoo. “Say you’ve been shopping for boots. If you see an ad for boots, that’s instantly going to pique your attention more than an ad for, say, a car battery. That’s better for users. This is why contextual advertising is such a powerful tool.”

    According to the company, users won’t see much of a noticeable difference in how and where ads appear.

    While this isn’t the huge news that an exclusive Google/Yahoo search advertising deal would be, it’s very interesting to see the companies working together, especially considering the rivalry between Microsoft and Google. It’s also interesting given the fact that Yahoo is now run by longtime Googler Marissa Mayer, who has brought other Googlers along for the ride at Yahoo. Will this relationship blossom into something more between Yahoo and Google? Time will tell.

  • Google Still Wants A Deal With Yahoo

    Apparently, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has been talking about how the company would still love to be Yahoo’s search partner.

    As you may recall, Google and Yahoo were trying to get an advertising partnership done before Microsoft and Yahoo partnered up, but regulators were having none of it.

    A report from Forbes looks at some words allegedly spoken by Schmidt in Tokyo indicating that Google “would love to be search partner for Yahoo.” Note: that is a quote from Dow Jones’ account, and not necessarily directly from Schmidt himself.

    Forbes contributor Eric Jackson says he followed up with the Dow Jones reporter, who said, “Yes, I can confirm, Eric Schmidt definitely said they’d be interested in working with Yahoo US. He also said nothing doing for the time being, but they would be interested. It was also mentioned to him that there is new management at Yahoo US with a Google connection. But he played it pretty straight…. He also said they had expressed this interest to Yahoo before on a number of occasions.”

    Obviously, a lot has happened since the two companies tried to get a deal done, but Google has attracted more regulatory scrutiny than ever.

    Still, Marissa Mayer, a longtime Googler, is running the show at Yahoo now, and there have been rumors that Yahoo’s partnership with Microsoft could end prematurely (even before Mayer assumed her role as CEO).

    There’s no point in jumping to any conclusions, but this is the first time we’ve seen Google express much interest in Yahoo in a while. There’s little here to suggest that a deal will actually happen, but Schmidt’s words are intriguing nonetheless.