Yahoo | Internet Marketing Blog

Yahoo and Tumblr: the dangers of speaking too soon

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the years from working in digital marketing, it’s that first reactions to tech news stories are rarely accurate.

The time to form an opinion, in my experience, is when the stories ending in question marks die down.

When the Tumblr news broke (Yahoo’s planned acquisition @ $1.1bn) we were predictably flooded by instantaneous musings and misunderstandings around the network and its new owners.

Speculation then moved onto what Yahoo should do with its new toy, with a common concern muted as the nonsensical introduction of spammy ads.

by Steve Richards 23 May 2013 09:36am 0 comments

Yahoo's Tumblr acquisition sends clear message to advertisers

It's official: Yahoo has purchased popular blogging platform Tumblr for more than a billion dollars - $1.1bn to be exact.

The internet's latest nine-figure acquisition is probably one most industry observers wouldn't have predicted.

After all, despite that an ex-Googler, Marissa Mayer, is at Yahoo's helm, there were few prior indicators that she was looking to make a billion dollar purchase.

And if there had been, Tumblr, while incredibly popular, doesn't seem like the company that would have made it to the top of the list as Yahoo's track record with acquisitions of user generated content startups is not all that impressive.

From Geocities to Flickr, Yahoo has proven to be a master of reverse alchemy in the space, repeatedly finding ways to turn gold to lead.

by Patricio Robles 21 May 2013 13:42pm 0 comments

Future versions of Firefox to block third-party ad cookies

Online advertising continues to grow by leaps and bounds, but that doesn't mean that life is easy for players in the digital ad ecosystem. In fact, the thriving online ad economy is increasingly complicated.

Unfortunately, things are only going to get more complicated. Need evidence? Look no further than last week's announcement that one of the most popular browser makers, Mozilla, will begin blocking cookies from third-party ad networks by default in Firefox 22.

by Patricio Robles 25 February 2013 16:22pm 1 comment

Yahoo turns to Google for ads: sign of a new friendship?

When Yahoo recruited Marissa Mayer from Google to replace interim CEO Ross Levinsohn, some suggested that Mayer's departure from Google was an indication that she had reached her limit for advancement at the search giant, and that her role at Google was actually not as important as it might have seemed.

Whether the rumors about Mayer's status at Google were accurate or not, one thing was certain: Yahoo was placing a huge bet on the 30-something executive, one that might have been the last such bet it could make.

by Patricio Robles 07 February 2013 14:20pm 1 comment

Google's search market share drops below 90% for second month in a row

UK internet users made 2.7bn visits to search engines in December 2012, an increase of 400m visits compared to December 2011.

This represents a 17% increase year-on-year, and confirms that it was a particularly strong Christmas period for search.

Interestingly, the data from Experian Hitwise also shows that Google’s market share dropped below 90% for the second month in a row to 88%; its lowest point for five years.

by David Moth 22 January 2013 12:58pm 4 comments

Google and Yahoo confirm that lead generation has hit the big time

As a general rule in digital, it seems that when Google and Yahoo get involved in something it is a pretty good sign that it is important.

After many years of skirting around the fringes of performance marketing, recent product launches from these two online advertising behemoths leave no doubt that Online lead generation is finally ready to step out of the shadows and into the limelight.

by Justin Rees 20 December 2012 09:41am 3 comments

US traffic to Google News remains flat while Yahoo News grows dramatically

Back on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, Google News turned 10 years old. Like many other superstars who have spent too much time in the media spotlight, the news search engine needs to check itself into rehab and relook at its news settings.

Maybe then it can figure out why the number of unique visitors to Google News remained flat in the U.S. while Yahoo News has grown dramatically.

by Greg Jarboe 20 November 2012 18:21pm 2 comments

Thanks Microsoft! Do Not Track is effectively dead on arrival

Earlier this year, Microsoft created headlines when word broke that the Redmond software giant would enable Do Not Track (DNT) by default in the newest version of its browser, IE10. Although these claims were initially questioned, Microsoft clarified that, in an effort to "balance ease of use with choice and control," it would indeed enable DNT as part of its default settings during Windows 8 setup and IE upgrades.

That set the stage for battle and it didn't take long for the ad industry to respond to Microsoft's approach with harsh criticism.

by Patricio Robles 29 October 2012 13:02pm 3 comments

More than 75% of searches result in click-throughs

More than 75% of searches in July resulted in clicks through to websites, underlining just how adept search engines are at delivering relevant content.

Stats from Experian Hitwise show that Bing and Yahoo had the highest proportion of ‘successful searches’, meaning searches that resulted in a click-through, with 84% and 86% respectively.

Ask and Google both achieved a success rate of 76%, however it should be noted that it is increasingly common for Google to give users the answer to a query without them having to click on something.

As part of its new Knowledge Graph that was rolled out in May, Google now shows information relevant to search queries in a column to the right of the search results.

by David Moth 16 August 2012 12:56pm 7 comments

Is Yahoo making its last stand with Marissa Mayer?

Yahoo's decision to bring in now-former Googler Marissa Mayer to try to lead a comeback of a once-great internet icon has created quite a buzz and has some critics believing that for the first time in years, Yahoo's board of directors may be taking the company in the right direction.