Posts Tagged msn
Effective January 1st, 2010, Yahoo! will no longer support the Paid Inclusion (SSP) program!
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
As you’re probably aware, Yahoo! announced a strategic alliance with Microsoft, which is wending its way through the federal regulatory process, and which would position Bing to be the search and monetization engine for both companies. Yahoo! would focus on its strengths as a producer of Web media sites, from finance to sports, as a marketer and a leader in on-line display advertising that accompanies published Web sites.
It appears that Microsoft is pressuring Yahoo! to drop its successful and highly profitable Paid Inclusion program. The Paid Inclusion program has been a compelling and dependable source of revenue for advertisers. It consistently delivers a return on ad spend that surpasses Google, Yahoo Search, and Bing.
I can only guess that Microsoft is adopting Google’s view of ethical internet behavior and is dropping the program because it believes that it is duplicitous to allow companies to buy PPC advertising in an area of the web page that has been traditionally reserved for “free” or “organic” listings. It may fear that an association with a program that has been as controversial as the SSP program may degrade the value of the brand.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Tom Polanski, Trend Tracker on October 16th, 2009
Microsoft sues over malicious online ads
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
This article, written by, Ina Fried, discusses lawsuits filed by Microsoft against companies that are downloading scareware and spyware through ads running on their network. This is a growing problem as premium publishers turn to networks and advertisers of dubious quality because Tier 1 advertisers are buying less of their display inventory. It may be time for publishers like MSN, and The New York Times, to create a set of criteria, (a code of ethics, if you will), that an advertiser or network must meet in order to run ads on their networks.
The damage to their brands is greater than the money earned, and the quotas met, by selling inventory to anyone.
You’ll find the full article here.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Ethics on September 18th, 2009
What the Microsoft-Yahoo deal means to users
By Suzanne Choney
Consumers would see improved Web search efforts by all major players as a result of a proposed search partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo, experts said Tuesday.
“It’s a negative in that we’re going from having three major search competitors to two, but it may be better to have two strong competitors rather than one strong competitor and two weak ones,” said Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land, a site that monitors the search engine industry.
Google, which dominates search with 65 percent of the market, according to online measurement firm comScore Inc., “may be driven to improve their (consumer) offerings somewhat” as a result of the partnership, said David Smith, a Gartner analyst who covers the Web.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Marketing, SEM on July 29th, 2009
Reports that Microsoft and Yahoo! are very near an ad deal
NEW YORK – Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc are close to a long-discussed search and online advertising deal, which could be announced in the next week, according to the AllThingsDigital blog.
The two companies have talked about cooperating for months, after Microsoft’s bid to buy Yahoo was rebuffed last year and Yahoo’s attempt to seal a search advertising deal with Google Inc fell apart under regulatory scrutiny.
The latest discussions involve Microsoft paying Yahoo “several billion dollars upfront to take over its search advertising business and guarantee certain payments back to Yahoo,” according to AllThingsDigital’s Kara Swisher. Yahoo is likely to take the lead on selling display advertising for the companies, she wrote.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Twitter on July 17th, 2009