Should You Still Advertise on Yahoo?

Unless you’re a Neanderthal who’s finally coming out of your cave to speak after 30,000 years, you may be hearing all the brouhaha (or, Microhoo-haha…that was a joke, I’m here all week folks) about Microsoft’s bid to take over Yahoo. We all know that Yahoo hasn’t been doing too well, and Microsoft wants to sweep in like Mighty Mouse to save the day.

So, have businesses started becoming wary about advertising on Yahoo? Turns out, no. They still have the second largest piece of the search pie, and they’ve just increased their share of search advertising dollars, according to a recent SearchIgnite report. Meanwhile, Google and MSN have decreased their shares.

But what about the recent news that Yahoo will be displaying Google Adwords ads in its results in a 3-week test? Is this good or bad news for businesses currently or considering advertising on Yahoo? Well, if you think about it, it’s bad news, since it will increase competition and costs for advertisers.

This is a shame – my personal experience advertising on Yahoo has been good. Their program and platform is pretty solid, and I have gotten better ROI advertising on Yahoo than on Google. If Yahoo becomes flooded with Google ads, costs will rise and ROI will tank (especially since many ads displayed Google, especially through its content network, are highly untargeted – big loss for the people searching on Yahoo).

So, should you advertise on Yahoo?  It's up to you (and your budget), but I would have to say yes.  Despite all the Yahoo drama, it's worth it to test the waters on Yahoo, especially since it's the second largest search engine in terms of searches - it's exposure you can't afford to turn your back on.  Start small, and monitor your costs (just in case the 3-week Adwords test messes with your CPCs).  If it doesn't work, you can always wait until after someone buys Yahoo to test it again.

Do you currently advertise on Yahoo?  Has all the back and forth between Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, et al affected this?  Have you seen any significant increases or decreases in your costs?  Have you increased your Yahoo budget, or scaled it back as a result?