eMarketer has issued a major revision to its predictions for Microsoft's U.S. search ad revenue. The latest estimates peg Microsoft net search ad revenue at $660 million last year and $890 million this year, down substantially from the previous estimates of $1.41 billion last year and $1.84 billion expected this year. The downgrade is based on eMarketer's assessment of Microsoft's likely traffic acquisition costs (TAC), which appear to be substantially higher than previously estimated. The new revenue projections slice Microsoft's U.S. market share in half, from 9.3% to just 4.6%, due to th [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Features: Analysis | Google | Google: AdWords | Microsoft | Microsoft: Bing Ads | SEM Industry: Stats | Stats: Size | Top News | Yahoo | Yahoo: Search Ads

Perhaps in response to reports that Yahoo is unhappy with its search deal with Microsoft and looking for a way out, David Pann, GM, Microsoft Advertising Search Group, has written a post on the Bing Ads blog ahead of  "state of the state" meetings with clients in Europe that aims to reassure advertisers that the relationship is sound and the partnership is making progress. In his post, Pann writes, We are pleased with our partnership with Yahoo! and very encouraged by the momentum we are seeing in terms of revenue per thousand searches (RPM), ad relevance and the growth trajector [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Top News | Yahoo: Search Ads

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

Yahoo Advertising is introducing something of a groundbreaking new ad unit, inserting a cost-per-lead ad just under a site's listing within the organic search results. It also allows Yahoo a new way to earn off search separately from its deal with Microsoft, which has proven disappointing for the company. The new ad format, which can collect information like demographics, email addresses or phone numbers, is called Cost Per Lead for Search. It's clearly marked as "Ad from" with the advertiser's name following. Advertisers can choose a headline, logo and up to six individual fields for us [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Features: Analysis | Microsoft & Yahoo Search Deal | Top News | Yahoo: Search Ads

In the third quarter of 2012, click share on the Yahoo Bing Network rose to 21.3%, the fourth quarter in a row the network has posted gains. Google dropped to 78.7% in share, though based on click traffic, Google still outpaced YBN. These are stats from the Search Agency's State of Paid Search report for the third quarter. Here's a look at click share over time: [caption id="attachment_138339" align="aligncenter" width="497"] Data and Image via The Search Agency[/caption] As you can see, YBN's share has consistently grown, while Google's has dropped. But the chart doesn't reflect th [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdWords | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Stats | Top News | Yahoo: Search Ads

Microsoft and Yahoo -- the Search Alliance -- have announced the completion of the migration of advertisers to the adCenter platform, from Yahoo Search Marketing, in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. Since they previously migrated all Yahoo algorithmic search results to Bing, the transition is now complete in these countries. The migration has been underway since February. Next up for the transition comes Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Yahoo and Microsoft will start working with partners to make the change this month. The companies have typically offered migration assistant soft [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Search Ads: General | Yahoo: Search | Yahoo: Search Ads

Yahoo search users in the UK, Ireland and France will start to see ads from Microsoft's adCenter next week, as the two companies wrap up the transition that began in 2009 with the MSFT-Yahoo search alliance. As part of the transition, search advertisers that are still on Yahoo's platform in those countries will need to migrate to adCenter because Yahoo Search Marketing accounts will shift to read-only status. But, in a blog post today about the pending change, Microsoft suggests monitoring both accounts during the transition: As Yahoo! ad serving moves to adCenter, and your clicks and im [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Microsoft & Yahoo Search Deal | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Microsoft: Outside US | Top News | Yahoo: Outside US | Yahoo: Search Ads

Microsoft Advertising seems to be introducing a new feature a day, these days. Some of the more interesting: the re-introduction of Yahoo Rich Ads In Search (RAIS), changes to negative keyword behavior and the ability to pick specific landing pages per match type. The re-introduction of Yahoo RAIS, mentioned by both Portent and Rimm-Kaufman Group, appears to be Microsoft's answer to Google's sitelinks extensions and product listing ads. It came out of pilot in October and is currently being offered to premium advertisers for their brand and navigational terms. RAIS offers five different [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Yahoo: Search Ads

Microsoft has announced the launch of Location Extensions in adCenter, after mentioning plans for this, among other new features, nearly a year ago. The Location Extensions allow local business advertisers on Bing and Yahoo! search results to display their addresses and phone numbers within the ads, similar to the Location Extensions in Google AdWords. The interface for adding location extension information is pretty straightforward: The Location Extensions are clearly part of the adCenter team's intention to achieve feature parity with Google AdWords soon, as Eric Enge mentioned las [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Search Ads | Yahoo: Search Ads

Bing is reportedly now out of betaphase in Deutschland. According to Microsoft, Bing has 10 million users or 20 percent of active internet users in Germany: Mittlerweile benutzen fast 10 Millionen Nutzer in Deutschland regelmäßig Bing, das sind 20 Prozent der aktiven Internetnutzer hierzulande. According to several third-party sources, Bing's market share is smaller than the 20 percent figure cited above. For example, the following is StatCounter's search engine data for Germany: Source: StatCounter NetMarketshare generally agrees, showing Bing's PC search share at just ove [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: Outside US | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Microsoft: Outside US | Microsoft: Partnerships | Stats: Popularity | Stats: Size | Yahoo: Outside US | Yahoo: Partnerships | Yahoo: Search Ads

Microsoft adCenter ads are soon coming to Yahoo pages in France, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Microsoft announced today. The first testing for the roll-out will commence mid-January and may involve up to 10% of Yahoo's traffic in these geographies. Microsoft suggests advertisers closely monitor campaigns and be prepared to increase budgets if they're more than 80% depleted. Testing and adjustments will continue until the companies are ready for a full roll-out, which is expected to be in the second quarter. North American advertisers and publishers were transitioned to adCenter in 201 [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Yahoo: Partnerships | Yahoo: Search Ads

Microsoft announced they are now ready to move forward with transitioning over the search ad technology from Yahoo to Microsoft in the European regions. Microsoft said, the "European roll out is scheduled to begin with the UK, Ireland and France in the second quarter of 2012." Yahoo and Microsoft have already transitioned the search ad technology in the U.S. and Canada, as well as some other regions. But the transition scheduled slowed as revenue figures did not meet estimates and advertiser expectations were poor. Yahoo and Microsoft has completed the organic transition less than a [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Microsoft: Business Issues | Yahoo: Search | Yahoo: Search Ads

She was supposed to help turn around the company, but Yahoo's CEO Carol Bartz may soon be the one in turnaround because of another mixed or mediocre quarter. The search alliance and revenue share with Microsoft was partly blamed for Q2 revenues being down compared the same period last year: Revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs ("revenue ex-TAC") was $1,076 million for the second quarter of 2011, a 5 percent decrease from the second quarter of 2010, primarily due to the revenue share related to the Search Agreement with Microsoft . . . GAAP revenue was $1,229 million for the second quar [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Top News | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Search | Yahoo: Search Ads

In yet another sign that search marketing on Yahoo has moved elsewhere, the company is shutting down its Search Marketing Blog at the end of the month. Traffic will be redirected to the company's Advertising Blog. The move is another small step away from search for Yahoo, begun in earnest when the company announced its alliance with Microsoft in July of 2009. (Danny Sullivan even wrote a eulogy for Yahoo search at that time.) Though Yahoo's sales team still handles premium search marketers -- likely many who are also customers of its display business -- Microsoft now owns the interfa [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Yahoo: Search Ads

Yahoo reported Q1 revenues of $1,064 million, which represented a 6 percent decline vs. a year ago. The company essentially blamed the search deal with Microsoft for the decline: [The decline was] primarily due to the required change in revenue presentation related to the Search Agreement and the associated revenue share with Microsoft. For transitioned markets (U.S. and Canada), Yahoo! now reports revenue associated with the Search Agreement on a net (after TAC) basis rather than a gross basis. Excluding the impact of these two items and the impact of the divestitures of Zimbra and HotJobs, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Yahoo: Business Issues | Yahoo: Partnerships | Yahoo: Search | Yahoo: Search Ads

I had about 20 minutes with Yahoo's Shashi Seth after the press conference to discuss a range of things related to the Search Direct announcement. First, he confirmed that Search Direct entirely replaces Yahoo's Search Assist. Indeed one way to look at it is as Search Assist Plus. The Answer Is Out There Seth said to me that for about 50 percent of the top queries on the web there is a "definite answer" and that Yahoo will strive to provide that within Search Direct. In other contexts it will provide a range of choices to users. Seth predicted  that "in a couple of years we may walk comp [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Yahoo: Search | Yahoo: Search Ads | Yahoo: Shortcuts

Yahoo CTO Blake Irving introduced Yahoo's challenge to Google Instant, "Search Direct," at a press event today at the offices of Yahoo's PR agency. (See Danny's head to head comparison of Yahoo and Google Instant.) Before diving into the news, Irving first reviewed Yahoo's strategy (presented as a periodic table). Yahoo Instant Search Take Two Irving then moved on to the main event: Search Direct. The simple way to describe it is as Yahoo's version of Google's Instant Search but with richer content. It's intended to apply to both the PC and mobile experiences (including tablets). Irvi [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEO | Google: Instant | Top News | Yahoo: Search | Yahoo: Search Ads

The Yahoo-Bing paid search partnership has produced a couple positive trends for advertisers, according to new data shared by search marketing agency Efficient Frontier. As a preview to its usual quarterly overview, Efficient Frontier has published some early data on its blog with some findings about the Yahoo-Bing transition. The company says that the transition led to small drops in click share and spend share, and a larger drop in overall paid search ad impressions for Yahoo-Bing. But, the flip side of that was a gain in revenue-per-click (RPC). Efficient Frontier says revenue-per [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Microsoft: Bing | Search Ads: General | Stats: General | Yahoo: Search Ads

Quick note for any readers who have been slacking over the past few months and have not yet transitioned your Yahoo Search Marketing account over to Microsoft adCenter: The account transition tool inside your Yahoo account is shutting down on Wednesday, according to a post today on the Yahoo Advertising Blog: The transition tool inside your YSM account will permanently close on January 5, 2011. Accounts that are not transitioned by January 5 can only be manually transitioned by exporting and importing campaigns into the adCenter UI. Yahoo says you'll know you haven't yet transitioned acc [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Microsoft: Bing Ads | Yahoo: Search Ads

From an SEM-SEO resource-allocation perspective focusing on Google historically made lots of sense for small and even medium-sized firms. Some firms didn't have the bandwidth to address Yahoo, let alone Bing. But after the merger the two now control about 28 percent of all search traffic according recent search market share data from comScore. So now that there are two, it makes sense to devote resources to the Yahoo-Bing combination. Search ad network Chitika says that many of the publishers on its network -- almost 50 percent -- are receiving less traffic than they could if they were to p [...]

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Microsoft: Bing | Yahoo: Partnerships | Yahoo: Search Ads