An important milestone was reached just a few weeks ago when the ten year partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo achieved both US and EU antitrust clearance. The companies are now free to integrate their respective search technologies and ad platforms, a task expected to take all of 2010. Yahoo will jettison their current ad platform, Panama, in favor of Microsoft’s Ad Center. Yahoo’s organic search results will also be powered by Microsoft, specifically the Bing search algorithm.
So where does all this leave the small business advertiser?
Well for those of you advertising only with the Google AdWords platform, I doubt you will see much in the way of change until late 2010 or early 2011, when Google starts to go head to head with Microhoo for your online advertising budget. Microhoo is expected to have the cost advantage (less $ per click), so anticipate Google to retaliate with additional tools, interface tweaks, or AdWords product integration.
For those of you who currently advertise on Yahoo, keep advertising if the ROI is there, but do yourself a favor and sign up for a Microsoft Ad Center account today. With even a small budget, you’ll see first hand how the differences between the two platforms effect your campaign performance and you’ll be ahead of the curve when the integration happens later this year.