Google Launches Yahoo-Google Facts Site

Google has launched a new informational site designed to tell its story about why there’s no need to fear an ad partnership between it and Yahoo. Within the site, you’ll find lots of information about the deal except for one key fact: when exactly does it start? The launch of the site suggests any day now. […]

Chat with SearchBot

Google has launched a new informational site designed to tell its story about why there’s no need
to fear an ad partnership between it and Yahoo. Within the site, you’ll find lots
of information about the deal except for one key fact: when exactly does it
start? The launch of the site suggests any day now.

Here’s what’s on the site:

  • Facts page: Why Google says ad prices won’t be set between it and Yahoo; how
    Yahoo should earn more off the deal; how Yahoo won’t be able to see prices
    at Google; how Google & Yahoo will set minimum bids independently and much
    more.
  • What People Are Saying: Quotes from advertisers, publishers, ad agencies,
    commentators and others generally in support of the deal, or at least
    explaining why it is not necessarily a bad thing.
  • What The Deal Means For Advertisers: One page pitch that the deal means
    advertisers will be able to reach more people efficiently.
  • Why The Deal Is Good For Competition: One page pitch that this helps keep
    Yahoo as an independent company and that Yahoo is pledging to reinvest the
    money it earns to improve and compete against Google.
  • Terms Of The Deal: One page summary that Yahoo can carry Google’s search and
    contextual ads through an initial 4 year deal, renewable for two 3 year
    periods. There’s much more that could have been added here such as revenue
    guarantees. See our Yahoo’s Google & Microsoft Deals, Side-By-Side post for some of the stuff that’s not
    included.
  • Voluntary Delay For Regulators: Explains the Google view that
    regulatory approval is not needed but that it voluntarily decided to wait
    3 1/2 months from when the deal was announced on June 12. It notes that though the deal
    doesn’t involve any of Google’s or Yahoo’s European operations, Google is
    “cooperating” with the European Union, as it does a review.

From the home page, a number of other things are listed. Google especially highlights a New York Times commentary that came out this weekend saying there was nothing to fear about the deal. Written by Randall Stross, I saw some people poke that the piece should have been disclosed that Stross is working on a book about Google. Personally, I didn’t see this
as an issue — in fact, writing a book means he might have better understanding of the situation and so write a better commentary.

Google also highlights a  blog post about a SearchIgnite study that concluded prices will go up 22 percent on Yahoo. Google calls the study flawed.

The site also has video content along with a slide deck on the deal. Check out slide six. It was this slide that I saw two weeks ago from Yahoo, showing me how Yahoo will benefit from new ads it doesn’t have for terms like “red roses birmingham alabama.”

My post from this weekend, Yahoo’s Poor Ad Targeting & Thoughts On Google-Yahoo, explains how Yahoo might indeed
get new ads out of this but not new advertisers. Most of those advertising
on Google for that term also advertise already on Yahoo. Yahoo just uses
really bad broad matching technology, something that shouldn’t require
months of improvement and a Google deal to fix.

Having said that, my piece also gets into why I generally think the deal
does make sense to go ahead — why prices won’t be fixed in the way some
people are saying. I didn’t get into part of the trade-off I think Google
should provide to help engender more trust: greater transparency about
pricing, if it goes ahead. In particular, I think advertisers should be able
to know exactly how much they paid for each and every click. I also think
Google needs to provide an interface where anyone can see exactly how much
any advertiser is paying for any particular search.

Sadly, the fact site lacks the answer to the most important question.
When do the ads start on Yahoo? I’ve asked Google for an exact date. We’ve
had 3 1/2 months pass already from the announcement, so technically, they
should go live at any moment. The launch of this site makes me think that’s
about to happen.

Postscript: Google tells me consistent to what they’ve been saying recently, the ads will go live “at some point in early October.”


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Get the must-read newsletter for search marketers.