This is the fourth post that Keyword Connects has published in 2015 about Yahoo as a search engine and its partnerships with Google and Microsoft. The previous three began with the words, “Why, What, and Will.” (Why Getting Google Right Will Help You Generate Home Improvement Leads, What Would a Yahoo and Bing Divorce Mean to You?, and Will a Microsoft-Yahoo Breakup Affect Your Leads?)
Speculation Ends
The tempered and astute speculation of those posts has paved the way to the news in this post. On 20 October, Yahoo clarified in its 2015 Third Quarter Earnings Report that a deal has indeed, been negotiated with Google.
In October, the Company reached an agreement with Google that provides Yahoo with additional flexibility to choose among suppliers of search results and ads. Google’s offerings complement the search services provided by Microsoft, which remains a strong partner, as well as Yahoo’s own search technologies and ad products.
Speculation Begins
Now that the news has broken, a new round of speculation has begun, driving home improvement business owners – in fact, all business owners – to wonder,
- Is Yahoo taking more and more of its search engine back into its own hands?
- Is Yahoo preparing to sever its relationship with Microsoft and its Bing search engine?
- How will this affect my business’ lead generation efforts?
Ambiguity of the Agreement
This new cooperative effort was not sealed with a handshake. It has been meticulously drafted by attorneys that have carefully considered the best options for Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, and that are acceptable to global government regulations.
Search Engine Land has done as good a job as any entity could in breaking down the essential components of the deal.
- The agreement expires on December 31, 2018
- Google results will be available to both Yahoo desktop and mobile platforms
- Yahoo has complete discretion as to which services it uses, including but not limited to, Google and Microsoft
- Google will pay Yahoo a percentage of gross revenues from affiliate ads
- Either entity can end the agreement with notice
In addition, Microsoft has indicated that, “We remain committed to the Yahoo syndication partnership and will continue to serve the majority of Yahoo traffic as outlined in our contract extension. Yahoo is a valued partner and we look forward to continuing to serve our advertising customers through the Bing Ads marketplace.”
The deal has an unusually casual feel for one of such magnitude. The question now becomes one of intent: “Where is this going?”
Effect of the Agreement
Short-term, this agreement should be beneficial for home improvement lead generation, especially for those businesses that advertise using Google services. Some, if not many, search results that appear on Yahoo will be generated by Yahoo’s getting those results from Google. This was the case prior to 2008, but ceased with Yahoo’s subsequent alliance with Microsoft.
Long-term, the situation is more difficult to discern what is going on in the corporate boardrooms. What happens there has less to do with searches than with earnings. Yahoo’s earnings report was considered a disappointment on Wall Street, with EPS (earnings per share) dropping from $6.70 year-on-year to $0.08 in Q3 2015. The apparent major reason for that significant loss was a sharply higher cost of traffic acquisition than revenue. That is a situation that sometimes is a precursor of a different kind of acquisition.
Home improvement businesses can take comfort in knowing that Keyword Connects continues to provide, exclusive, quality leads, regardless of what Google or Yahoo do. Check us out and learn why Keyword Connects is better at consistently delivering leads that convert at industry-leading rates.
