Technology, Culture, Commentary on the Internet Revolution

Yahoo is Now an AdSense Publisher

by Mike Abundo on June 13th, 2008

Yahoo’s most recent strategic plan involved portals, ads and APIs. They just dropped the “ads” part. They have become a Google AdSense publisher, just like thousands of Web publishers around the world.

Two years ago, Yahoo ceded search to Google. Now they’ve ceded advertising as well. With Google’s help, Yahoo has finally fended off Microsoft. Shareholders are punishing Yahoo’s share price as they bawl over their lost Micro$oft payday.

I disagree with those Wall Street whiners. Granted, Yahoo has effectively given up on Panama — the thing Microsoft wanted most — and must now give a hefty cut of their ad revenue to Google. A third of their entire strategic plan has been all but wiped out. As a Google AdSense publisher myself, however, I can personally attest to the benefits of outsourcing your ads and focusing on your content.

Scale those benefits up to the world’s #2 Internet giant, and you’re talking about annual AdSense earnings of $800 million. That’s a damn big AdSense check.

By giving in to the Googlegod, Yahoo has freed itself to really focus on its content. The question Yahoo faces now is the question faced by all AdSense publishers: what is your content?

How Yahoo answers that question will determine whether or not they did the right thing yesterday. Will they push on with the rest of their strategic plan — portals and APIs — or will they fall back on old media habits?

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POSTED IN: Advertising, Google, Yahoo