New research from SearchIgnite and RBC Capital Markets found that
since the launch of Yahoo’s ad system Panama more than a month ago,
big brand marketers have benefited most from the Quality Index. The
feature is a score for ads that estimates average position and click
forecasts based on budget allocation and ad quality.
In addition, Yahoo’s click-through rate has gone up and its cost-per-
click has been stable. The research also found that Yahoo’s market
share for paid search advertising stabilized after dropping suddenly
in 2006.
“The biggest key finding is that Panama has been overall very good
for large brand marketers thus far – but keep in mind that it’s
really still too early to tell,” said Roger Barnette, president of
SearchIgnite, Atlanta, GA.
The report tracked more than 7.5 billion impressions and 85 million
clicks across more than 500 marketers. It was based on research
conducted in the fourth quarter of 2006 and running through Feb. 24,
2007.
“In terms of challenges, I’m not seeing any for large brand
marketers, which is [who] SearchIgnite typically represents,” Mr.
Barnette said. “While cost-per-click and average position have shown
improvements, the volume of impressions have declined due to their
new geographic filtering features, which has mitigated some of the
expected performance improvements, but overall has still been a net
positive.
“Our clients are preliminarily encouraged [to switch to Panama] but
[are] still in wait-and-see mode.”
Yahoo’s Panama good for big brand marketers: study
