Search ads on Yahoo previously were ranked solely by bid price. But the new model, which launched Feb. 5, will take into account the ad’s quality — a factor determined by the ad’s historical performance and its expected performance relative to other ads displayed simultaneously.
“Yahoo is very excited to introduce our new, more quality-focused ranking model because it has the power to significantly enhance the experience we deliver to our users and unlock the full potential of Yahoo's search marketing network,” company CEO Terry Semel said. “With this important piece in place our new search marketing system will allow Yahoo to more effectively connect people with the businesses, products, services and information they are passionate about.”
Tim Cadogan, Yahoo vice president in charge of search marketing, said the new model encourages advertisers to focus on the quality of their ads, which will in turn better serve the search engine’s users.
“We firmly believe that delivering more relevant ads to users will result in more quality leads to advertisers, invite even more participation in our network and ultimately create a more valuable marketplace for users, advertisers, publishers and Yahoo,” Cadogan said. “Everybody wins.”
Webmasters who use the new model, codenamed “Panama,” can check their stats by using the quality index in the new application. The Panama application also provides advertisers with an estimated average position and estimated forecast of clicks for their ad campaigns, based on budget allocation and ad quality.
Yahoo said it plans to launch the product internationally on a market-by-market basis throughout 2007.