Google, Yahoo make the deal: AdSense on Yahoo Search

By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published June 12, 2008, 6:54 PM

Late Thursday afternoon, the news came from Google that it will indeed become a full-time provider of AdSense advertising for Yahoo's search pages, and the two companies' IM protocols will become interoperable.

Under the deal, as Google's announcement today describes it, Yahoo will become a carrier of AdSense-driven contextual ads not only within its own search pages, but also optionally for other services that it hosts. But Yahoo will continue to provide the search functionality -- it is not sublicensing Google's search to substitute for its own, or making any kind of a deal that passes control of Yahoo Search over to Google.

In a corporate blog post this afternoon, Google Senior VP Omid Kordestani wrote, "We are proud of the advertising technologies we have built, which show users a relevant ad whether they are searching for a specific item or browsing the internet. This arrangement extends those benefits to Yahoo and its many users, advertisers and publisher partners. We currently provide similar services to sites like AOL and Ask.com as well as many other partners, and we work closely with all of our partners to ensure that our partnership drives their long term success."

Kordestani went on to make certain points very clear. In boldface type, he wrote, "This is not a merger." The deal is limited to enabling Google ads to appear on Yahoo search and Yahoo-hosted sites, as well as an agreement between both companies to make their instant messaging services interoperable.

Also with a boldface heading, he added, "This does not remove a competitor from the playing field. Yahoo will remain in the business of search and content advertising, which gives the company a continued incentive to keep improving and innovating. Even during this agreement, Yahoo can use our technology as much or as little as it chooses." He went on to say Google's share of search traffic will not increase under this deal -- a key concern of regulators -- since it's still Yahoo's engine that's providing the search for Yahoo's pages.

Speaking on behalf of her company this afternoon, Yahoo President Susan Decker wrote, "This agreement provides a source of funds to both deliver financial value to stockholders from search monetization and to invest in our broader strategy to transform display advertising and advance our starting point objectives with users. It enhances competition by promoting our ability to compete in the marketplace where we are especially well positioned: in the convergence of search and display."

Yahoo's statement spelled out the terms of the deal: It will run for four years initially, with the option of extending it to ten years in two- or three-year renewal intervals. It only affects Yahoo Web properties in the US and Canada.

"Advertisers will continue to pay Yahoo directly for clicks served by Yahoo from Yahoo's Panama and Content Match marketplaces," today's Yahoo statement reads. "Advertisers will pay Google directly for each click on Google paid search results appearing on Yahoo owned and operated network or certain affiliate sites. Google will share a percentage of such revenue with Yahoo."

BetaNews tests Thursday afternoon did not immediately reveal Google AdSense-driven contextual ads along Yahoo search results just yet.

Comments

SWEET. Thanks god yahoo came to their senses and rejected that trash from MS...

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Guess I opened that new Gmail account just in time.

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Reality Check: Search engines don't generate revenue directly. Google isn't a search company, it's an advertising company that makes a search engine. Who cares if yahoo is using it's own search engine or not, it makes no money. Now when anyone searches yahoo the ads they see are google's and so google makes money. Yahoo gets a fractional cut of the money it's own site generates. This is an admission of defeat by yahoo and a huge win for google. If you use yahoo ad services, you know, the ones they don't even use themselves, then you're a idiot. Yahoo is dead, they just admitted defeat, they have no solid way to generate revenue at this point.

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LOL. Google's Adwords service will know all the search terms typed into Yahoo's search from now on. It won't be hard to link the Yahoo! user's identity to a Google profile. Google will know everything about everyone so very, very soon.

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I am curious to eventually see what Google is up to here. It seems like a classic shell game of diverting our attention from what they are really doing.

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Wow, what message does this send to users of Yahoo's ad service if they won't even use it?!

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Perhaps there's more competitive bidding on ad words on Google =) -- like eBay vs. Yahoo Auctions ... Yahoo! Auctions had less items available, thus less users bidding and less listing... and thus it lost steam... Now if only Google AdWords would start appearing on Yahoo's search =)

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Just dig yourself a grave already. Not that I cared much for Yahoo anyway...I'll bet there is going to be some management changes following this. Typical get rich scheme: screw the company, take the money.

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Welp, Yahoo decides to commit stock suicide. Not being said here is that by doing this, it's a complete admission that Yahoo's advertising platform, which it said would "Crush" google, codenamed "Amp" as well as other technologies can now be seen as the king with no clothes. By making this admission, Yahoo's effective intellectual assets to a suitor are exactly.. uh.. yeah. Hate MS or not, they offered $33 a share. With that basic admission, through this maneuver, Yahoo doesn't have the assets to merit $19 a share. This could be one of the all-time dumbest manuevers that will leave stock holders smarting.

If your MS, though, it may be good news, you may have saved yourself a fortune by not buying the titanic.

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Sounds like a win-win for both. Yahoo gets revenue from what will be a huge amount of impressions and clicks and Google gets that much more power for their AdSense advertisers which will attract even more business. If you are an AdSense publisher, you are always trying to get the most impressions you can, because the more your ads are seen, the more clicks you will get. All types of websites, Blogs and even AdSense "sharing" communities (community blogs)like www.senserely.com/referral/77777fad are all about the AdSense.

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Negative score here please

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After reading this news I Yaggled and shouted Goohoo

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Anti-trust anyone?? Yahoo is going the way of AOL.. THis is better then TW buying them.. But yahoo will not be around in 5 years the way they are going..

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Actually AOL bought Time Warner.

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There goes the neighborhood!

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