Yahoo Debuts SMB DIY Display Ad Builder

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After an apparently successful limited trial, Yahoo is rolling out a program that targets small businesses (SMBs) for self-service display advertising on its network and through RightMedia, its ad exchange.

The DIY portal is a collaboration between Yahoo and AdReady, which supplies the back end and the ad templates. (Google earlier introduced a similar, though less elaborate product.) The templates can be sorted by best performing (CTRs are exposed), most used and newest. Advertisers can use their own ads as well. Ads can be targeted by geo, content category or Yahoo property. They show on the Yahoo network and third party sites via the RightMedia exchange.

There’s no word on integration with Panama. I would assume reporting will be combined or folded in at some point for those using both search and display.

Why do this? “Dynamic visuals get more clicks to grow your business” and “people spend 95 percent of time online browsing sites with display ads” says the flash demo. Yet online display advertising has been under intense pricing pressure because of excessive inventory and declining demand from the flight to search and other performance-based advertising during the recession. However a new comScore-OPA study, consistent with past research, tries to counter the negative perception of display advertising by showing that display drives lots of search and engagement.

According to the study, to be released on Thursday:

• About one in five consumers [who saw display ads] searched on the advertised brand
• About one-third visited the advertiser’s site in February
• Consumers exposed to the display advertising spent over 50% more time than the average visitors to these sites the next month
• This rise in time spent is matched by a similar increase in page views

There’s always been a challenge asking small businesses to do anything online that requires self service. However, that isn’t stopping a wide range of companies from trying to capture SMB ad dollars on the display side. On the new Yahoo MyDisplayAds, if advertisers intend to spend more than $2,500 per month, they’ll get more hand holding and support apparently.

I have some additional thoughts and discussion on my blog Screenwerk.