Yahoo Ads Appearing in eBay Search Results
Yahoo Search Marketing advertisements are beginning to be shown on some result pages in eBay, according to Ina Steiner at AuctionBytes. Yahoo & eBay struck up a powerful multiyear partnership in May which will result in Paypal integration throughout Yahoo, more eBay presence within Yahoo Channels and Yahoo Search Marketing ads served in eBay search results.
Steiner says that eBay sellers were quite surprised about the Yahoo Sponsored Search ads appearing in results; Many of the sellers who commented on the appearance of the ads seemed to have no knowledge that the eBay-Yahoo partnership entailed such ads, nor did they seem pleased about them.
In May, eBay North America President Bill Cobb had stated that the Yahoo ads would be for complementary products and services. “For example, a buyer searching for a hair dryer might be presented with sponsored search ads for related items like shampoo or hair brushes”
However, the tests running this week appear to be for competing products in some cases. A search for “burberry rain boats” (a misspelling for both burberry rain coats and burberry rain boots) brought back zero eBay listings and three Yahoo advertisements, including one with a link to the Burberry website.
eBay spokesperson Catherine England explained , “Bill Cobb spoke about the possibility of presenting “complementary” ads on eBay searches that yielded results – where the ads would feature items related or complementary to the term searched. That may be something we test in the future; what we are currently testing is the display of Yahoo text ads on eBay searches that yield no results. As the test continues, we will continue to refine what gets displayed and when.”
Bill Cobb’s May 2006 Statement:
The sales, implementation, and management of ad space on the Internet is a highly specialized function, and Yahoo! is a leader in this area. While eBay serves up many graphical ads on the site today, quite frankly, our own advertising infrastructure is not as robust as it could be. Instead of investing in more infrastructure for eBay, we’re pleased to be partnering with Yahoo! who can provide this service as a benefit to our buyers and sellers.
Another area eBay will work with Yahoo! on is improving our keyword ad program. We realize that sellers have wanted better service and support than has been provided through our current eBay Keywords program. I believe eBay’s marketplace will benefit from leveraging Yahoo!’s strengths in this area.
Over the summer, eBay and Yahoo! will also be testing new text ad placements on some eBay pages. For instance, we’ll be looking at placements at the bottom of search results pages if there are no matching items found. We’ll be testing other placements on a limited number of search results pages, too, as a way to learn what works well for eBay buyers and sellers. This will include testing some sponsored search ads for complementary products and services – for example, a buyer searching for a hair dryer might be presented with sponsored search ads for related items like shampoo or hair brushes. To be clear, we will not place ads on view item pages.
Our number one concern is ensuring that the changes we make are right for our sellers and buyers. As we test, we’ll be monitoring the impact of any changes carefully, as well as listening to your input.
My opinion is that eBay sellers should be a little more patient before seeing the finished product, which may direct some searchers away from the eBay auction process or even help to fortify some of the eBay stores and their reputations after some price comparisons with sites clicked on via the Yahoo Ads.
Secondly, isn’t nice to hear some more Yahoo good news after their Q2 earnings report sent their stock sinking?
