OK, this story has been out for a few weeks now, and if you recall there has been a lot of heated debate mainly centered around the concern of Google monpolisation and potential price fixing.
At Cheeze we also have concerns that the Google deal will effectively take Yahoo out of the frame as an independent voice in the marketplace, leading to more dominance for Google and we will be working with the IPA to ensure advertisers interests are listened to.
One of our largest concerns is for Yahoo itself. We watched many years ago as Ask Jeeves started to increase the amount of search results and income it took from Google to the point now where there are no sales teams for Ask Jeeves, just Google Ads. Whilst this may mean good business at the bottom line [loads of income and no sales teams] it also killed off [in our opinion] any form of USP that Ask Jeeves could offer. Where once there was an independent ‘human edited’ search engine with a great brand and plenty of trust, now remains a shadow of its former self, offering no real benefit to consumers or advertisers.
So could Yahoo go the same way? Well, there is that potential, although the size and breadth of service offering provided by Yahoo is substantially larger than Ask Jeeves, and with the Microsoft and Google both interested in working with Yahoo, it may not all be doom and gloom.
I think it is also worth pointing out that the statement from Google read; “Our agreement to provide ad technology to Yahoo!” which sometimes gets missed in all the furore. If you read the release it talks about the provision of technology, and not some form of merger or monopilsation.
So, after much debating, here are five reasons why we think the Google Yahoo could be beneficial to advertisers. Remember, most of these are theory as we have yet to see the full impact of the deal, however we believe the 5 reasons to be :
1. Greater Maximisation of Yahoo! traffic meaning greater potential business from Yahoo! Yahoo! has for some time been on the back foot with regards search marketing technology. The much hyped, and oft delayed Panama failed to live up to its billing resulting in Yahoo’s inability to really gain maximisation of its search traffic. Using Google’s technology to power the ads should mean more opportunities for advertisers [more reach, more volume] and more money for Yahoo!
2. Ironically the Google deal may actually allow Yahoo to challenge the dominant volume of search traffic coming from Google. Currently most campaign budgets could be split 80% to Google, 20% to the rest [I stress could as the actual split will depend on campaign objectives and budget], so a boost in Yahoo opportunities can be a good thing for greater choice.
3. Better conversion rates? As an agency we see substantially different search volumes form each search provider, furthermore we also see substantially different conversion rates from the providers. As part of this, we also see varying conversion rates of impression to click which have an impact on our campaigns. By harnessing Google technology, Yahoo may be able to increase the relevance of their advertising delivering us higher conversions for better cost.
4. Cheaper Clicks? Yahoo’s latest announcement regarding the drop in minimum click cost means that good campaigns with good history and conversions will start to benefit from lower click costs. Combine this with potential greater volume and we may see greater opportunities at lower cost.
5. Uniformity of uploading. OK this is a small point, but still valid. Both the Google ad tool and the API access are superior to Yahoo. By providing technology to Yahoo, they may well start to improve the campaign management elements which will benefit advertisers by giving them greater support and greater uniformity when creating campaigns.
These are just five things we think could be better. Time and experience will tell us if they are right. Meanwhile the on the blogs, and in the senate, the debate rages on. As an agency, we will continue to watch the changes and work with the IPA in our position on the DMG search group to ensure we deliver what is right for our clients.
What do you think of the deal? Are there benefits or is it all negative?
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