Search retargeting is something Yahoo should’ve done two years ago, so it’s good to see them issue press releases that actually talk about initiatives that will make a material impact on their business. Here is WSJ on Yahoo’s new offerings:
Yahoo Inc. is unveiling several tools Tuesday to help marketers better target their online ads, as the Internet company tries to win back business during the recession.
The services include targeting graphical ads to users who have searched for particular terms in Yahoo’s search engine and customizing the offers in ads based on what Web sites a consumer has visited and what they have done on those sites. Another service that is expected to go live next month will allow marketers to buy text ads next to search results that are targeted to users during a certain time of day or based on factors such as their age and gender.
Other companies already offer some similar features. But Yahoo, which has been testing some of the products, is betting its ability to deploy them across its user base of hundreds of millions of monthly visitors will give it an edge.
Yahoo has tons of inventory and the best way they can monetize it is by unleashing all their user data on it. I can’t overstate the importance of this new, as it finally sounds like Yahoo is taking a disciplined approach to running a business. Don’t get too excited though– there is relatively limited upside here.
Related links on retargeting:
Search Retargeting Worth a Second Look?
Search for keyword “retargeting” on this blog
