Report: Yahoo’s Search Ad Share Drops 36%

Jan 12, 2009 at 8:54am ET by Barry Schwartz

Silicon Alley Insider reports Yahoo’s search ad share dropped 36% in the fourth quarter of 2008. The numbers come from AdGooroo, that claims Yahoo’s search ad share was 30.4% in September, then dropped in 23.7% in October, then to 20.4% in November and then to 19.4% in December. Meanwhile, Microsoft grew from 12% in October to 16.4% in December.

They then add that, based on watching Yahoo’s top advertisers, it appears that Yahoo ads are paying a lot less than Google ads. In short, search ad arbitrageurs are buying traffic from Yahoo and cashing that traffic in on the Google ad side.

This may explain the recent reminder from Yahoo about how they can modify advertisers accounts, potentially increasing advertisers bids and campaigns. Which leads Yahoo to not many options but a deal with Microsoft - soon.

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.

See more articles by Barry Schwartz >

Share, Bookmark & Discuss This Article
More:

Keep Updated: News Via Email | News Via RSS Feed | News Via Twitter

See more stories like this in the Members Library! Check out the Yahoo: Business Issues, Yahoo: Search Ads sections of the Members Library where this story is filed. Members also get access to exclusive video content, a members-only weekly & monthly newsletter, plus more. Check out all the benefits!

ONE COMMENT ON Report: Yahoo’s Search Ad Share Drops 36%

webelop, January 12th, 2009 at 3:57 pm ET:

Could figures in that report be somehow wrong?
The sum of all 3 percentages per month is by far more than 100%.

TOP STORIES

See All »

SEARCH NEWS BRIEFS

See All »

FEATURES & ANALYSIS

See All »

RECENT COMMNENTS

m.orliac said " I agree, and giving priority to the "cool"factor is not going to help getting better search results "
Buy Advertising said " I've been experimenting with the merger of advertising and entertainment. I think that it can be bot"
nickstamoulis said " Wow, this is very interesting, I was not aware of the the Google Books case at all, I will be sure t"

See All »

See How To Articles And More In Our Members Library »

FREE DAILY SEARCH NEWS RECAP!

Stay on top of all the search news with our daily summary, the SearchCap newsletter. View a sample ›

STAY CURRENT THROUGHOUT THE DAY

The Search Engine Land feed keeps you informed as news happens. SEE ALL FEEDS »

SEARCH ENGINE LAND SPONSORS

Advertise With Us »

UPCOMING SEARCH ENGINE LAND CONFERENCES

Search Engine Land produces SMX, the Search Marketing Expo conference series. SMX events deliver the most comprehensive educational and networking experiences - whether you're just starting in search marketing or you're a seasoned expert.

SMX Web Site » | SMX Difference » | SMX News »

Join us at an upcoming SMX event:

UPCOMING SEARCH ENGINE LAND WEBCASTS

Learn more about search marketing with our free online webcasts and webinars from our sister site, Search Marketing Now. Upcoming online events include: