Comments on: The New Yahoo Search (aka, Panama) Looking More & More Like Google Adwords

By: pepperjamBlog » Blog Archive » Google Adwords Quality Score Debacle Continues; Is Google Price Gauging Advertisers?

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 16:37:06 +0000

[...] In many cases, Google is penalizing trademark owners from bidding cost effectively on their own trademark. In other cases Google is increasing bids as high as $10.00 for keywords that in the past cost advertisers pennies on the dollar. Previously, this issue has primarily hit search arbitragers. However, the problem continues to spread like a nasty virus unjustly hitting advertisers of all shapes and sizes, including some Pepperjam clients who spend lots and lots of money on Google Adwords. And with Yahoo Search Marketing starting to look more and more like Google Adwords, advertisers need to be concerned. [...]

By: Rachit

Rachit — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 03:14:53 +0000

If you own stock for Yahoo – please raise your hands and rejoice. Because investors will now cause a bull run to reward Yahoo for blindly following Google and taking the “evolution” … rather than “revolution path.

If you currently advertise on Yahoo – erm, you just lost your competitive advantage. The new publicity will bring hordes of advertisers to Panama (which will drive up the bid prices), and the new ad/site quality scores will make most of us start with a clean slate.

And if you were a search enthusiast, like Kris … I’m gonna be mourning this month. Every year, I grow more frustrated with Google for making its ad system so mystical. Hell, it’s “PAID SEARCH” … not natural search. We (the advertisers) are supposed to know the rules for placing well. If my local newspaper told me that they would randomly place my ad anywhere depending on the quality of my office space … I’d be frustrated as hell!

So yeah, tomorrow we can all start using Panama and figuring out the tips and tricks to gain the unfair advantage there. But today, let’s just bitch about the end of “The days of FREE MARKET PAID SEARCH” (In Kris’s words)

Great post, Kris.

By: Dean Karasinski

Dean Karasinski — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 19:02:02 +0000

I also agree that Yahoo is chasing Google in this area. Sure there were a few things wrong with the original platform of yahoo (like not being able to pause multiple accounts, and if you had alot to pause it could take 20-30 minutes. And in all seriousness, I loved bidding wars, jamming and all of that, it made it fun and unique and not only that it was also strategic. I guess the new platform is good in a functional way, but some of the trademark Yahoo uniqeuness is missing here and it is actually devoid of originality

By: Kris Jones

Kris Jones — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:56:11 +0000

Excellent analysis. I tend to agree with you about the +’s and -’s, especially as it relates to well written ads equalling a lower CPC. My fear is that Yahoo will become more like Google who tends to be seen as the big brother – the almighty maker of all rules. This should be unacceptable to advertisers since the slogan of “do no evil” is an attachment to Google that most would agree no longer applies.

By: CPA Affiliates

CPA Affiliates — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:29:12 +0000

In general it is a move in the right direction but i feel for the wrong reason. I honestly feel reason Yahoo is doing it is to just follow google as a blind sheep since they have the market cornered. There are pluse and minuses both ways but overall i think Yahoo is just trying to follow and not lead and with that mentality even with these updates, I feel they won’t gain more market… honestly i feel they may lose market due to a lot of the people strictly using Yahoo because they can see their bid placement now they can’t and it will be more of a guessing game and not worth it to them when they can use other sources… i could be way off but thats my take.. I like the updates and do like the ability to get cheaper bids for quality ads/pages etc…… who knows maybe they will be more transparent then Google only time will tell.