In an effort to catch up to Google in the search engine ad market, Yahoo overhauled its ad system. Does the new system, named Panama, get the job done? We take a look at reviewers' opinions, and form a few of our own.
"We Try Harder."
-- Avis, number two car rental company
On October 17, 2006, Yahoo formally gave details of their Panama ad system, their next generation advertising platform. I have watched for months alongside other advertisers as Yahoo gave tantalizing tidbits about the benefits of the Panama ad system. I have always been a proponent of low cost (or unpaid) alternatives to pay per click systems; mostly I try to "behave organic, act paid."
And I always recommend AdSense (it works if done well) to any client that asks for a paid advertising package. I always view SEO first from the perspective of a user, then from the perspective of a publisher, and finally from the perspective of a marketer. This fits, since I am basically a copywriter/designer first, and offer SEO for clients who ask for it. But the Yahoo Panama package is quite interesting (and quite historic also). It and may actually be the model for all successful advertising platforms (PPC) since it targets ads on a geographic basis (local search), and incorporates behavioral data into the ads it returns.
By December 14, Yahoo let bloggers test the system; we will take a look at what they said shortly. A week later the search engine rolled it out for voluntary migration. Yahoo is switching its users over in phases, starting with present subscribers to their current ad system moving voluntarily to the Panama platform. The first wave of these were supposed to begin switching in late 2006; by mid or late 2007, switching will be mandatory for all (including new users, who can still subscribe to the Data Traffic Center platform). Switching from DTC to Panama cannot be reversed.
I have had the opportunity to peek at some notes of some of the reviewers Yahoo invited to test the platform as "external testers," namely bloggers Brian Schwartz (marketer and writer) over at Search Engine Watch, Andy Beal (Ask Proponent, Google Basher), and Andrew Goodman and Mona Elesseily over at Traffick.
Search Engine News 
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