Yahoo announced yesterday that it had prevailed in an appeal of a $2.75 judgment in Mexico obtained by former joint venture partners. Those former partners, Worldwide Directories and Ideas Interactivas, sued Yahoo for breach of contract and damages. The case arose from the termination of a contract between Yahoo de Mexico and Ideas Interactivas. In roughly 2002, the companies agreed to jointly produce online and print directories: "Yahoo! Paginas Utiles." The project was initially successful and the parties sought to expand the deal to other countries and regions, including Central America, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Legal | Yahoo: Maps & Local | Yahoo: Outside US | Yahoo: Partnerships | Yahoo: Search

A Yahoo spokesperson confirmed that Dylan Casey has joined Yahoo as a senior director in the platform organization. According to Casey's Linkedin profile, the new Yahoo senior director was head of project management at Path for the last year and five months after serving as a product manager at Google for nearly eight years. During his time at Google, Casey was responsible for launching the Google bar, as well as developing and launching Google Realtime Search. A one-time professional cyclist, Casey led the development of Path's product strategies in 2012 and 2013, while recruiting Path's p [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Employees

Just a day after the story broke that Yahoo wanted out of their deal with Microsoft, Yahoo's senior vice president of search Laurie Mann commented on new search tools and upgrades that are scheduled to launch over the coming months. According to an article in Bloomberg News, some of the planned upgrades are being created along with Microsoft. "We've got some really cool things in the pipeline, which we'll be announcing and rolling out over the coming months," said Mann. After playing a key role in establishing Google as the world's most popular search engine,  Marissa Mayer has been dri [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Search | Google | Microsoft: Bing | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Search

Despite effectively renewing its search deal with Microsoft recently, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Yahoo wants a way to break that deal. Why didn't Yahoo take the opportunity it just had? I suspect that technically and financially, it couldn't. Yahoo's "Get Out Of Microsoft Free" Card The WSJ story says that Yahoo has been "quietly" trying to find a way out of its deal with Microsoft. There are some very specific reasons why Yahoo could break that ten year deal early. One of them is the failure for Microsoft to help Yahoo to reach promised "revenue per search" or RPS goals. T [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Business Issues | Microsoft & Yahoo Search Deal | Microsoft: Business Issues | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues

Yahoo is giving Microsoft a further chance to prove that its search ads really can make Yahoo as much money as promised -- at a price. Microsoft has agreed to extend "search revenue guarantees" that it has continually paid since the two companies signed a deal in 2009. Yahoo Declares An Extension Reuters spotted the extension as part of Yahoo's latest quarterly financial filing: On April 30, 2013, Microsoft extended the RPS Guarantee in the U.S. for an additional 12 months commencing April 1, 2013. Second Time Guarantee Extended To translate into plain language, when Yahoo & Microso [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Microsoft & Yahoo Search Deal | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues

Yahoo has apparently been working with search-ads network Chitika since 2006. Chitika ads appear on various Yahoo PC sites (e.g., Answers, Local) and Yahoo (Bing) search/text ads are syndicated across Chitika’s network of roughly 250,000 publisher sites. Now that relationship is expanding to mobile. According to the news out this morning: The multi-faceted agreement with Yahoo! includes; off--network search syndication, monetization of Yahoo! owned and operated properties, and mobile ad serving and monetization. This deal allows Chitika to continue to provide world-class monetization sol [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Top News | Yahoo | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Mobile & Go | Yahoo: Partnerships | Yahoo: Search Ads

Earlier today Yahoo and Jybe announced that the latter was being acquired by the former. Jybe, which I had not heard of previously, is described by Yahoo as "a personalized recommendation company founded with the vision to help people find the things they love to do based on what’s trending in their social circles." It sounds like a "social search" or "social discovery" app. Indeed, all five Jybe team members are former search people -- and former Yahoo employees: As part of this acquisition, we’re welcoming an extremely talented group of engineers and data scientists who will join Ya [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Employees | Yahoo: Mobile & Go | Yahoo: Search

Marissa Mayer is tightening Yahoo's belt. Since taking over as Yahoo's CEO, she's spoken repeatedly on the need to zero in on being part of its users' "daily habits." Today, the company announced the shut down of seven products that don't fit that "daily habit" mantra. Included in the group are a couple search-related products, including one under-the-radar keyword research tool that we (and others) have written about fondly in the past. Yahoo Clues will be shut down on April 1st. It was poorly named and was primarily positioned as a search trends product, but for SEOs it was an inter [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: General | Yahoo: Mobile & Go

Laurie Mann has been promoted to run Yahoo Search. Mann, who is a man, has been senior vice president of engineering operations at Yahoo since 2002. Prior to that Mann spent a number of years at Oracle in various engineering roles. The news was first reported late last night by AllThingsD. Mann fills the position that was previously held for approximately three years by Shashi Seth. Seth left Yahoo in January. He was charged with "innovating in search" on top of the Microsoft algorithm and search index. He presided over a period in which Yahoo saw its share of the US search market d [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Employees | Yahoo: Search

Yahoo and AVG announced a new partnership deal where Yahoo will power AVG's secure search, which will protect AVG's customers dangerous websites and online threats. The process uses AVG's LinkScanner technology to protect their users from malicious web sites. As we reported a couple of days ago, there was an 80% increase in the number of infected search results clicked on by users this holiday season. So the need for security in search is there. "AVG is excited to team up with Yahoo! to help provide Internet users with peace of mind when searching the web or accessing their favorite onli [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Partnerships

The world, it seems, just cannot wait for Facebook to come along and start its own search engine and knock Google off the top of search mountain. The rumors and expectations of this go back for years. Now the latest twist: Yahoo and Facebook will team up together. If you're banking on that potential alliance taking out Google, much less Bing, let me offer up a reality check. Report: Yahoo & Facebook Talking Search Let's start with the current news that has various tech blogs lighting up over the possibilities. The Telegraph, citing anonymous sources, reports that Yahoo CEO Marissa May [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Facebook | Features: Analysis | Microsoft & Yahoo Search Deal | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Search

Apple, Google and mapping apps weren't the only thing that Eric Schmidt spoke about today in Tokyo. Forbes is reporting that Schmidt also floated the idea of a Google-Yahoo search partnership. Dow Jones reporter Kenneth Maxwell was at the event, and shared this statement with Forbes: 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 al [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google & Yahoo Ad Deal | Google: Business Issues | Microsoft & Yahoo Search Deal | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues

Once again, Yahoo is earning so little under its search deal with Microsoft that Microsoft is having to make up the difference due to a revenue guarantee. If the performance doesn't improve, Yahoo might go looking for a new partner, which could include Google. Let's explore how the deal has continued to falter, quarter-after-quarter, and how the seemingly inevitable failure might lead Yahoo back to one-time partner Google. The RPS Gap During its earnings call this week, Yahoo chief financial officer Tim Morse said there continues to be a gap between the expected revenue earned per search [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Features: Analysis | Google & Yahoo Ad Deal | Google: Business Issues | Microsoft & Yahoo Search Deal | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Business Issues | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues

Wow. Wow. Wow. That's all that keeps running through my head as I digest the news that long-time Google executive Marissa Mayer is to take over as president and CEO of Yahoo. Smart move for Mayer. Smart move for Yahoo. And as I'll explain more, perhaps a move that finally takes Yahoo out of the search game, but takes it out in a smart way. A Force To Be Reckoned With I've known Mayer since she started at Google in 1999. Until she moved off of being vice president of search in 2010, Mayer was the Google executive I had the most contact with. When we were first introduced, my reaction to Googl [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Features: Analysis | Google & Yahoo Ad Deal | Google: Business Issues | Google: Employees | Microsoft & Yahoo Search Deal | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Employees

Marissa Mayer is leaving Google today, and will take over as Yahoo's President and CEO as of tomorrow. The 37-year-old Mayer was Google's 20th employee and has been responsible for a number of Google products over the years. Most recently, she oversaw development of Google's local products and services. Yahoo has struggled to find a leader in recent years, going through several CEOs including Carol Bartz, Scott Thompson and the current interim CEO, Ross Levinsohn. The news comes via CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin and was shared via a pair of tweets just now. BREAKING- Sorkin: Yahoo names Ma [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Google: Employees | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Employees

[caption id="attachment_127578" align="alignright" width="192" caption="Is Ross Levinsohn's Yahoo's Future (Non-Interim) CEO?"][/caption] You can't blame Yahoo's board for being a little bit gun shy. After all, eight out of 11 directors are new this year -- three of them were appointed in the wake of the highly-public resume scandal that ousted CEO Scott Thompson. With the Thompson debacle, the departure of co-founder Jerry Yang, and the ill-fit of Carol Bartz, Yahoo is under pressure to get it right this time. That's seems to be why today's shareholder meeting in Santa Clara, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Employees | Yahoo: General

The Search Alliance between Yahoo and Microsoft had some unintended beneficiaries (now casualties). Yahoo's former senior director of business management, Robert Kwok, has pled guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, after being accused that he told a mutual fund manager in July 2009 that the deal between Yahoo and Microsoft was imminent. Among its many provisions, the deal -- officially announced in late July of 2009 -- called for Microsoft to pay Yahoo $50 million annually, for three years, for implementation costs. The mutual fund manager, Reema Shah, formerly of Ameriprise F [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Microsoft: Bing | Yahoo: Business Issues

Kara Swisher at AllThingsD is reporting that embattled Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson is going to step down for "personal reasons." Swisher has one or more "moles" inside the company and consistently gets inside information -- which generally turns out to be correct. Thompson's "personal reasons," as we all know, are: misrepresenting that he had a computer science degree. Yahoo EVP Ross Levinsohn is reportedly set to become interim CEO, with the apparent hope that he could take the helm permanently. Swisher adds that the situation is still in flux and could change. The board is apparently meet [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Employees | Yahoo: General

Yahoo's product teams are officially on notice. Shortly after announcing Q1 earnings yesterday, new Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson dropped a bomb during the analysts' call when he said the company will be "shutting down or transitioning roughly 50 properties that don't contribute meaningfully to engagement or revenue." He went on to say that Yahoo's focus will be on its "core media connections and commerce businesses," such as Yahoo News, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Mail and a few other successful Yahoo properties. But what about the 50 properties that are destined to be shut down or transitioned [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Top News | Yahoo: Answers | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Flickr | Yahoo: Pipes | Yahoo: Translation

A short while ago Yahoo released Q1 earnings, which exceeded financial analysts' consensus estimates. Total revenue was $1.22 billion, up 1 percent year-over-year (YoY). Net earnings were $286 million, representing 28 percent YoY growth. Total search revenue was $470 million, up 3 percent vs. last year. Search revenues (ex-TAC) were up 8 percent to $384 million (vs. $357 in Q1 2011). Total display ad revenues were down 2 percent, however, to $511 million. The search gains came notwithstanding a decline in overall query volume last quarter, according to comScore. New CEO Scott Thom [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Search