How can Yahoo Search Marketing compete with Google Adwords in PPC Advertising, effectively?...?

Question

What are the reasons why Yahoo, despite its initial headstart (Go2.com, Overture, etc.) over Google in PPC advertising, is not anywhere close to Google Adwords in either market share for itself, or gain 'win-win relationship image' in terms of customer perception?

Can Yahoo do anything to bridge the gap, and even overtake Google in PPC advertising? How?

Answer 1

Perhaps I'm over simplifying, but isn't it because the Google search engine is used more than Yahoo?

Whether true or not, Google is perceived as better. "Google" has even become a verb meaning to search the Internet.

Consequently Adwords works better because there are more people who click on Google ads than Yahoo ads. It stands to reason that the more clicks, the more success an ad campaign will have.

Hope this helps.

tfedge

Answer 2

I have several insights to your question.  First, currently Yahoo! is taking steps to bridge the gap, they are getting into the mobile search arena and have just launched their new Panama edition.  Secondly, as an advertiser, the advantage to advertising on Google is that you will most likely get more clicks than you will on some of the other engines.  But, the flip side of that, you may get better results (ROAS, conversion) on Yahoo! than you will on Google.  So both engines PPC programs have their advantages and should be used together to create a successful advertising campaign.  With the new Panama system, by the way, there are not too many noticeable functionality differences since Yahoo! and Google are now both running with a similar advertising philosophy, but Google still has more ad type choices than Yahoo!

Answer 3

If you haven't already seen it, the link is to an interesting article. There are links to some other interesting articles at the bottom of the article. There appears to be a variation of opinions among marketing news reporters.

I'm not so sure that Yahoo really pushed itself as a search specialist early on. When I first heard of Yahoo a little over 10 years back, it was for two reasons, neither of which was search.

One was people getting @yahoo.com email accounts. The other was the finance message boards. Some people at work were using the message boards as a way to anonymously vent some steam about work, whether  they were really interested in the company's stock or not.

Google really was known for search, first and foremost from the beginning. As the other answerer said, some people use google as a verb. The word yahoo just doesn't have quite the same ring to it, when used the same way.

I have used them both a lot, and I've never felt that either was better than the other. The results are usually very, very similar. What few differences there are, usually don't make one any better than the other.

I have had people tell me that Google was a lot better than Yahoo, but have not been able to give me a concrete example of doing the same search on Yahoo as on Google and said how Google was better. It is a perception but it is a very strong perception.

If nothing catastrophic happens to Google, I doubt that Yahoo will close the gap any time soon. But with PPC revenues increasing as fast as they are, even if Yahoo continues to lose just a percent or two of market share a year, Yahoo should continue to be a player.

Answer 4

There are people in society that like this over that, just like most people would rather drive a BMW than a Ford.