Yahoo So Desperate To Stay Away From Microsoft, It's Starting To Use Google Ads

from the now-that's-desperation dept

Last summer there was speculation that a bold step for Yahoo to take to revive its sagging prospects would be to ditch its own ad system and outsource it to Google. Despite Yahoo trying to catch up for many years, Google's ad system just works much, much better. It would save Yahoo a ton of money and probably create better returns -- even if it would help fuel Google too. However, Yahoo pretty much laughed off the suggestion... until now. Being aggressively pursued by Microsoft can have that effect -- especially as white knight rescuers seem few and far between (i.e., they don't seem to exist at all). So, with that, the news is breaking that Yahoo is finally going to test running Google's ads. It's a "small scale" test, only running for a couple weeks and only on a small percentage (less than 3%) of Yahoo's inventory. But, assuming it goes well, it'll likely lead to a much bigger shift. Of course, Microsoft was quick to denounce the deal, claiming that the Justice Department would have a field day over the antitrust issues raised, but so far Microsoft doesn't have such a great track record in getting the DOJ to act on its antitrust complaints.

Filed Under: ads, antitrust, outsourcing, partnerships
Companies: google, microsoft, yahoo