Yahoo!

Case
Analysis

May 9

2007

The strategy of implementation of an established dot com company, struggling

to leverage current advertising methods with business objectives.

Jason Drohn
Bradley Bierer
Carol Woods
Michelle Victory
Paul Rapela

Table of Contents
Executive Summary......................................................................................................................... 3
History: ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Problem ........................................................................................................................................... 7
Competitive Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 9
Yahoo Financials............................................................................................................................ 12
Economics ..................................................................................................................................... 19
Demographics ............................................................................................................................... 23
Market Analysis............................................................................................................................. 30
CPM ............................................................................................................................................... 34
SWOT MATRIX:.............................................................................................................................. 36
QSPM............................................................................................................................................. 38
Space Matrix ................................................................................................................................. 39
Strategic Issues.............................................................................................................................. 42
Strategy Implementation .............................................................................................................. 47

Executive Summary
Yahoo has grown up as a portal company. They learned early on that by being sticky, by
having a web presence that forced users to stay on their site, they could find ways to profit
from the page views. This has led Yahoo astray though. Not only has Yahoo given up overall
profits in search of ever expanding user acquisition, they have allowed their search product to
fall behind.
Google, Yahoos chief competitor, has mastered the art of monetization, namely
through contextual advertising. Contextual advertising is when a small piece of programming
code is inserted into web pages which actually interprets the text and serves advertising based
on keywords. Googles offering, Adsense and Adwords, produces 99% of the companys profits.
This advertising network is built into both their search and branded sites. Web publishers are
also growing to adopt Googles version of website advertising to gain monetization for their
own traffic.
Yahoo has adopted this model of contextual advertising that has been so profitable for
Google, but have yet to refine it enough to make a serious impact on the market. The program
is still in beta (the internets way of saying under-construction) and has not made any headway
at attracting new publishers or advertisers.
The primary disconnect in the Yahoo model has been the lack of precision, because their
search algorithm needs to be updated. The ad network fails to interpret that an article is
written about cars, and serves ads about entrepreneurs. Money is only made if a user clicks on
the advertisements. This is an interesting dilemma.
3

On the positive side, Yahoo has a brilliant banner serving system. Since Yahoo still sees
itself as a portal, it still leverages Yahoo Money, Cars, Email, etc. Each of those sites has
products or services that provide value to the user. A user shopping for cars is later targeted
with banner ads reflecting the cars that they were viewing online.
In our estimation, Yahoo needs to focus on core content by improving exactly what it is
that makes them money. They should focus on improving their ad networks efficiency and
allowing all publishers admittance. They should leverage their banner serving software with
the contextual market and provide growth that way.
Google, the market leader, is simple and built around search. Yahoo needs adopt a like
philosophy to remain competitive in their market.

History:
Yahoo! Incorporated is an Internet service provider that serves both users and business
globally. The company was founded in 1994 by David Filo and Jerry Yang who were attending
Stanford Universitys PhD program (The History of Yahoo!). Yahoo! Inc. began as a hobby for
Filo and Yang and has now evolved into a multifaceted brand that serves internet users
worldwide (The History of Yahoo!). Yahoo! Inc. has become the worlds largest global online
network of integrated services (The History of Yahoo!). According to the Yahoo! Inc. website,
they have become one of the leading search engines on the World Wide Web (The History of
Yahoo!).
Yahoo! Currently has 500 million users worldwide that visit the site each month. Yahoo!
is provided to users in more than twenty different languages (Yahoo! Inc). The company also
has office locations in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Canada and the United States
(Yahoo! Inc). Yahoo! Inc. is currently headquartered in Sunnyvale, California (Yahoo Inc).
Yahoo! Inc. was incorporated in California in March of 1995 (Yahoo! Inc). Yahoo! Inc.
first went public on NASDAQ in April of 1996. At this time Yahoo!s stock opened for $13.00 per
share (Yahoo! Inc.). At the close of its first day of the IPO, Yahoo! stock had reached a closing
price of $33.00 per share (Yahoo! Inc). At this time the company only had 49 employees
(Yahoo! Inc). The company was then reincorporated in Delaware in May of 1999 (Yahoo! Inc).
In December of 1999 Yahoo! Stock was added to the S&P 500 (Yahoo! Inc).
In 1996, Yahoo! Inc. began entering into joint ventures with SOFTBANK (Joint Ventures).
Through this initial joint venture, Yahoo! Inc. was able to create Yahoo! Japan. Subsequently
5

Yahoo! Inc. has teamed with SOFTBANK to create markets in Germany, United Kingdom,
France, and Korea (Joint Ventures). Yahoo! Inc. and SOFTBANK have also created GeoCities
Japan Corporation to create and manage a Japanese version of the GeoCities website (Joint
Ventures).
Yahoo! Inc. has also teamed in a joint venture with VISA to establish Yahoo!
Marketplace (Joint Ventures). This joint venture occurred in August of 1996 and has since then
created a navigational service focused on information and resources for the purchase of
consumer products and services over the internet (Joint Ventures). This joint venture alone
created a new market for Yahoo! Inc (Joint Ventures).
Most recently, in January 2006, Yahoo! Inc. and Seven Network Limited , also known as
SEVEN, have teamed in a joint venture as well (Joint Ventures). SEVEN, an Australian media
firm, signed an agreement with Yahoo! Inc (Joint Ventures). In this agreement, Yahoo! Inc
(Joint Ventures). contributed its Australian internet business, Yahoo! Australia and New
Zealand, and SEVEN contributed its online assets, television and magazine content (Joint
Ventures). Yahoo! Inc. has a fifty percent equity ownership in the joint venture which will
operate under the name Yahoo7 (Joint Ventures).
Yahoo! Inc. also operates Flickr, a photo sharing and storing website (Yahoo! Inc profile).
The company also provides its users with web mail, instant messaging, music, video, personals,
and much more (Yahoo! Inc profile).

Problem
Yahoo is a master of portals, but they have let their search product suffer. They have
long built out their offering in such a way to add value to their users through functionality while
they hoped that revenue would be made in the process. There was no clear attempt to either
target those users with advertising or extend any real value added services.
This portal terminology has run so deep that it is engrained in the Yahoo culture. Search
is a product of users making their way through the Internet, rather than the core of their
business. Yahoo sees their core business as being Yahoo News, Finance and Mail. They have
made acquisitions such as MyBlogLog and Flickr. For what though? To extend functionality or
to increase revenue.
The all inclusive Yahoo is counting on the traffic to be monetized through private
advertising deals and partnerships. Partners usually pay to have their service included in the
Yahoo Directory in one form or another. These joint partnerships are encouraged because it
not only brings Yahoo recurring revenue, but allows the partner a strategic place in the Yahoo
network. The partnering service typically sees a boost in traffic, thanks to being networked
with such a big web presence.
Private advertising comprises the other side of the revenue deal. Private advertising is
such that a company may put their banner in a prominent location of the Yahoo network.
Similar to partnerships, the private sponsors are limited to the banner placements that are
bought. For example, Newegg.com, a well known computer retailer, might put a banner ad on

the Yahoo home page for $50,000 a month. This banner ad is then targeted to each and every
user who enters the Yahoo home page.
The problem is that web publishers, those that own their own websites are not able to
capitalize on this revenue model. Yahoo promotions are concentrated to being served on
Yahoos pages. Publishers do not have a chance to leverage Yahoos size and revenue potential
the way that Google has empowered their users, through the contextual ad system.
Yahoo is the most trafficked website on the planet. More pageviews are served from
Yahoo servers than any other company in the world. Why is it that they are trailing Google in
revenue then? Because Google allows other publishers to maximize the ad network. 82% of
Googles revenue is achieved not on their site, but on other web publishers.

Competitive Analysis
As taken from the Yahoo 10K, We primarily compete with companies to attract users to
our website and advertisers to our marketing services. We expect the market to become
increasingly competitive if online marketing continues to grow and gain acceptance on a global
basis.
Yahoos primary
competitors are Google,
AOL, and MSN. All of
which compete in the
industry of Internet
Information Providers.
However, because AOL is
held as a limited liability
corporation and MSN is a
division of Microsoft,
data is not readily
available for either section. This critique will have elements from both companies, including
information taken from Microsofts 10K report and AOLs few public records.
The first key difference to note is the fact that each company differs in its primary
company beliefs. Yahoo sees itself as a portal to connect people to their passions, their
communities, and the worlds knowledge (Yahoo 10K). Googles maintains the largest, most
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comprehensive index of web sites and other content, and makes this information freely
available to anyone with an internet connection. Their automated search technology helps
people obtain nearly instant access to relevant information from our vast online index (Google
10K). Microsofts offering, MSN, provides personal communications services, such as email
and instant messaging, and online information offerings such as MSN Search, MapPoint, and
the MSN portals and channels around the world (Microsoft 10K). AOL is simply an internet
service provider who combines the leverage of the Internet with its own branded services.
Although each of these competitors has aligned themselves in the same sector
investment wise and serve the same relative target markets, they define their services
differently. In some sense, this demonstrates how they align their business model as well.
Google lives by its advertiser network, also known as the Google Network, comprised of
Adwords and Adsense. The combination of the two services provides Google with 99% of their
revenue. The revenue may be further divided between 18% on site advertisement and 81% off
site advertisement. Adwords is an online application that allows businesses to publish their ads
to the many websites that participate in the Google Network. Adsense is the destination for
web publishers and site owners who have space on their website for ads. The webmasters
make money every time a Google ad is clicked. Google is essentially the middleman.
Yahoo takes a different alternative to the system. Being the most trafficked website on
the planet, Yahoo sells ads for its own network of sites. But as the 10K notes, Yahoo sees itself
as a gathering place for people to connect with their passions. Yahoos specialty pre-Google
has been monetizing its own web pages.
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Yahoos ad network has proven effective on the front of intelligent ad serving. The
algorithm is built in such a way that it can see where a visitor is going online, within the Yahoo
network, and serves ads based on those tendencies. For instance, if you are looking at a car in
Yahoo Autos and travel to Yahoo Money, you will see a car advertisement. This data is stored
for an indefinite amount of time, so in three months a random car ad may show up again.
Yahoo has only just recently launched an Adwords and Adsense competitor though.
Yahoos service is named Yahoo Publisher Network. Yahoo Publisher Network allows the same
functionality that the Google Network does, but is currently in beta. The company has yet to
solidify its stance in the market concerning the advertising software.
As Yahoo states in their 10K, The principal competitive factors relating to attracting and
retaining users include the quality and relevance of our search results, and the usefulness,
accessibility, integration and personalization of the online services that we offer as well as the
overall user experience on our website. In the case of attracting advertisers, the principal
competitive factors are the reach, effectiveness and efficiency of our marketing services as well
as the creativity of the marketing solutions that we offer.
They also add, We believe that we are effectively competing in the Internet services
market as we continue to refine our search technology, build onto our existing online
properties and services, and further improve our users experience.
From this, one may conclude that Yahoo services play a key role in attracting and
retaining users. Whereas, Google has recognized that search is their primary objective.
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Yahoo Financials
Yahoo trades on the NasdaqGS under the symbol, YHOO. For slight comparisons, to
show where Yahoo needs to be, we are going to compare several key statistics with Googles
results.
With a 52 week range of 22.65 to 28.86 and a volume of 21,102,256; the stock itself is
well traded. The current P/E of 55.57 seems high, especially when compared to the much more
profitable Google; which has a P/E of 48.18.
Here is a snapshot of the top level financials for Yahoo at the time of writing:

Across the top level, revenue has been strong as well since 2002. 2006 revenues come in at
6,425.7 (in millions). Looking at the company snapshot:

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However, in terms of Google, Yahoos chief competitor, there is a discrepancy. Google grew
revenues to 10,604.9 (in millions) since the time of IPO offering in 2003. There revenue is as
follows:

Key Ratios:
Profitability Upon further examination of Yahoo, the key ratios include:

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Cost of goods sold has increased as one might expect, throughout the ten year span of
public trading. This is largely due to the increase of server space and supplemental acquisitions
the company has made. These acquisitions include services like Flickr and MyBlogLog.
Research and development is sitting at 13% in 2006, which is higher than Googles
(which comes in at 11.6%). This is a positive mark for Yahoo.
The EBT, or earnings before tax, as dropped to 17.1% - from 48.4%. This is a cause for
concern. Googles stands at 34.9 to 37.8 for the last two years.
In dropping to the profitability section, Yahoos tax rate is 41.7%, up from 30.2%. This is
not the highest its been, though. In 2000 it was 72.7%. Google sits at 23.3%.
Perhaps the biggest discrepancy I can see is that Yahoos return on assets dropped from
18.95% in 2005 to 6.73% in 2006. Google remains strong at 21.41%.
Yahoo Growth rates are the most alarming section in this analysis though.
Growth RatesYahoos growth rates are as follows:

As pictured above, Yahoo had amazing growth in the late 90s and in 2003 and 2004.
However, Google was has stormed on the scene, taking the search and advertising market that
previously served with banner ads. You can see this reflected in Yahoos falling numbers.
14

Google introduced pay per click services which are the bread and butter of the new search
giant.
Googles growth:

Google, having their initial IPO in 2004 has grown exponentially. 2004 was a big year for
internet adoption, and the first year Yahoo had a true competitor. Since then Yahoo has fallen
to 47.1% growth and 22.2% growth in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Even in the last quarter,
Google posted a 67% increase, while Yahoo sank to a 13.4% increase.
Cash FlowYahoos Cash Flow:

Yahoos operating cash flow was down last year, -19.9%, and their free cash flow growth
year over year was down -47.6%. This could be because of several high priced acquisitions.
15

Googles Cash Flow:

Google didnt have a stellar year, in regards to cash flow and in comparison to their last
couple, but they still remained in the positive, sitting at 45.6%. That number may have been
reduced because of the YouTube acquisition.

Financial HealthYahoos financial health is a point of concern, because their cash and short-term
investments have been decreasing year after year. Accounts receivable inventory has remained
constant, and their current assets has been around 2% for the last five years.
In regards to total current assets the company has noticed a drop year over year in Total
Current Assets, landing at 32.6% in 2006. Intangibles and Long Term Assets are at 29.3%
though. I would imagine these stem largely from their offices and datacenters spread around
the world.
The largest concerning factor in this financial analysis is the debt of Yahoo, as compared
with Google. Yahoo has .9% Accounts Payable, but 9.1% of Accrued Liabilities and 2.8& Short
Term Liabilities. Their Long Term debt is at 6.5% which they just picked up in the last 4 years.
Altogether, Yahoos liabilities total is 20.4%, leaving the stockholders equity at 79.6%
This might seem like an advantage to some, because they are leveraging debt to magnify
earnings, but if you continue further down, the current ratio is 2.54 and the quick ratio is 2.4.
The company isnt going bankrupt, but has been trending down badly in the last four years.
Google on the other hand demonstrates only 7.8% liabilities, allowing the other 92.2%
to be owned by the stockholders. They have a Current ratio of 10 and a quick ration of 9.63.
The following two pages offer printouts of the full financial statistics.
16

Yahoos Financial Health:

17

Google Financial Health:

18

Economics
Economics is defined as, the social science that deals with the production, distribution,
and consumption of goods and services and with the theory and management of economies or
economic systems. There are many factors and indexes that are tracked to gauge the health of
the economy. These include gross domestic product, consumer price index, and strength of the
dollar, interest rates, and disposable income.
Yahoo, Inc. relies heavily on accurate information pertaining to all these factors
associated within our economy. Not just what the consumer is spending, more importantly how
the economy is doing as a whole. Yahoos expenditures by advertisers tend to be cyclical,
reflecting overall economic conditions and budgeting and buying patterns. Since Yahoo derives
most of their revenues from advertising, any decreases in or delays in advertising spending due
to economic conditions could reduce their revenues or negatively impact their ability to grow
their revenues. Yahoo relies on the value of their brand and a failure to maintain or enhance
the company brands in a cost-effective manner could harm their operating results. (10K) Yahoo
believes that maintaining and enhancing their brand, specifically those that contain the Yahoo
name as well as those that do nothing, is an important aspect of their efforts to attract and
expand their user and advertiser base.
Yahoo has spent considerable money and resources to date on the establishment and
maintenance of their brands in which they anticipate spending increasing amounts of money
on, and to devote much greater resources strictly towards advertising, marketing and other
brand-building efforts to preserve and most importantly enhance the consumer awareness of
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their brands. The success of Yahoo is depended upon us, the consumers and much money we
are willing to spend on the Internet.
Spending and the availability of monies is not just a major concern with Yahoo, it is with
all other Internet Service Providers. The fear is the increase of CPI indexes and the possibility of
inflation. The consumer price index (CPI) is a tool used to gauge the economy. The CPI is most
commonly used to measure inflation, and businesses use it as a guide in making economic
decisions The CPI is an index of prices used to measure the change in the cost of basic goods
and services in comparison with a fixed base period.(American heritage dictionary) The CPI
includes all goods and services purchased by urban households. The prices that are used to
calculate the CPI are taken from 87 urban areas throughout the country.
The CPI is computed as a percentage of the cost of certain products as compared to a
base year. (The American Heritage Dictionary) The current base year is 1982-84, which equals
100 percent. Any number above 100 indicates that prices for that year are higher than in the
base year. The most current CPI statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are for
February 2007. During February 2007, the CPI rose by .5 percent to a level of 203.499. This
figure means that consumer prices for February 2007 were 103.499 percent higher than in the
base year. This was an increase of 2.4 percent since February 2006. The CPI is divided into
several different sections. Sections include housing, food and beverage, transportation, and
energy. The index for food and beverage increased .8, housing .4, transportation .1, and energy
.9 during the same time period.

20

When consumer prices rise, everything else seems to follow. The increases will affect
Yahoos business relationships with the third-party content providers, which will become
critical to their success. As competition for compelling content increases the prices at which
they offer their content to them and potential content providers may not offer their content to
Yahoo on terms that can be agreeable to them. An increase in prices charged by the third
parties to them could harm their operating and financial condition. Further, many of Yahoos
content licenses with the third parties are non-exclusive. Accordingly, other webcasters and
other media such as radio or television may be able to offer similar or identical content. This
increases the importance of their ability to deliver compelling editorial content and
personalization of this content for users in order to differentiate Yahoo from Google and MSN.
If Yahoo is unable to license or acquire compelling content at reasonable prices, if Google, or
MSN broadcast content that is similar to or the same as that provided by Yahoo, or if they do
not develop compelling editorial content or personalization services, the number of users of
their services may not grow as anticipated, or may decline which could harm their operating
and financial results. (10K)
Interest rate changes will affect the operating expenses of Yahoo, their third- party
affiliates and their competitors. Interest rates are controlled by the policy makers of the
Federal Reserve Board.(FED) The rates established by the FED are used by banks and lending
institutions to set the interest rates for loans and credit cards. By manipulating the federal
funds rate, the FED tries to control inflation and keep the economy strong while preventing a
recession. The FED sets this rate at a level to keep the financial and monetary conditions of the
21

economy in line and adjusts the rate for changing economic conditions. A change in these rates
by the FED, or the expectation of a change, can trigger changes to the short term and long term
interest rates, the foreign exchange value of the dollar, and stock prices. Changes in these rates
affect the spending decisions of both households and businesses.(federalreserve.gov)
The FED raises the federal funds rate to slow down economic growth and curb inflation.
They lower the rate to stimulate a sluggish economy and encourage growth. Since June 2006
the federal funds rate has been stable at 5.25 percent. During the prior two years, the FED has
raised the federal fund rate 17 times. Should we be concerned? Should Yahoo, Google and
others be concerned? Yes, as noted earlier when the cost of items increases so will others soon
to follow. The increase in interest rates will affect the anticipation of Yahoos much needed
expansion into the world of cyberspace.

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Demographics
Internet World Stats (2007) reports as recently as March 10, 2007, Yahoo! has a
potential global customer base of 1,114,272,426 people who access the Internet. The usage
growth period charted is for the years 2000-2007. Of the data presented Asia, Europe, and the
Untied States are the three top users of the Internet globally. Africa, Asia, Middle East, and
Latin America/Caribbean reflect the largest usage growth while North America reflects the
lowest growth percentage rate globally in the charted period.

WORLD INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATION STATISTICS

%
Usage
Population Usage
Growth
(
% of
2000Penetration World
2007
)

33,334,800

3.6 %

3.0 %

638.4%
%

World Regions

Population
( 2007 Est.)

Population Internet
% of
Usage,
World
Latest Data

Africa

933,448,292

14.2 %

Asia

3,712,527,624 56.5 %

398,709,065

10.7 %

35.8
%

248.8%
%

Europe

809,624,686

12.3 %

314,792,225

38.9 %

28.3%

199.5
%

Middle East

193,452,727

2.9 %

19,424,700

10.0 %

1.7 %

491.4
%

North America

334,538,018

5.1 %

233,188,086

69.7 %

20.9%

115.7
%

Latin
America/Caribbean

556,606,627

8.5 %

96,386,009

17.3 %

8.7 %

433.4
%

Oceania / Australia

34,468,443

0.5 %

18,439,541

53.5 %

1.7 %

142.0
%

WORLD TOTAL 6,574,666,417 100.0 %

1,114,274,426 16.9 %

100.0 208.7
%
%

NOTES: (1) Internet Usage and World Population Statistics were updated on Mar. 10,
2007. (2) CLICK on each world region for detailed regional information. (3)
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Demographic (Population) numbers are based on data contained in the world-gazetteer

website. (4) Internet usage information comes from data published by Nielsen//NetRatings, by
the International Telecommunications Union, by local NICs, and other other reliable sources. (5) For
definitions, disclaimer, and navigation help, see the Site Surfing Guide. (6) Information from
this site may be cited, giving due credit and establishing an active link back to
www.internetworldstats.com. Copyright 2007, Miniwatts Marketing Group. All rights reserved
worldwide.

Internet World Stats (2007) illustrates that North America had the lowest usage growth
rate by world region, but does reflect the highest Internet global penetration.

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Internet World Stats (2007) presents the following pie chart of the world Internet user.

The World Bank Group (2007) charts internet user data. The user data can be
disaggregated into many forms of information such as: gender, age, frequency, and household
income. The available information on the use of the Internet globally is inadequate in scope
due to the limited number of countries which collect information and communication
technology making it difficult to ascertain the market for global Internet industry (pg. 1).
The United States provides the most information on the use of the Internet in the North
American Region. The following World Band Group graph was last updated January 11, 2007.
Demographics of Internet Users
Below is the percentage of each group who use the internet, according to our
December 2006 survey. As an example, 69% of adult women use the internet.
Use the internet
Total Adults
Women
25

70%
69

Men

71

Age
18-29

83%

30-49

82

50-64

70

65+

33

Race/ethnicity
White, Non-Hispanic

72%

Black, Non-Hispanic

58

English-speaking Hispanic

69

Household income
Less than $30,000/yr

49%

$30,000-$49,999

75

$50,000-$74,999

90

$75,000 +

93

Educational attainment
Less than High School

36%

High School

59

Some College

84

College +

91

The Pew Internet Organization (2007) provides valuable information on the

demographics of Internet users in the United States. The information reveals a large block of
the U.S. populace which actively uses the Internet. The largest segment of the U.S. populace is
26

the 18-29 age groups with an 83% usage rate. Following closely behind are the 30-49 age
groups with an 82% usage rate and the 50-64 age groups reflecting a 70% usage rate. Race and
ethnicity reflect percentage rates of Whites as the largest users of the Internet (pg. 1).
American demographics (2007) says the Hispanic race is the fastest growing population
in the United States. Changes in the Hispanic race have increased by 3.3% between 2004 and
2005 (pg. 12). Combing the American demographics (2007) and the information drawn from
the World Bank Group (2007) chart data reveals, the Internet segment for the Hispanic
populace is expected to grow as Hispanics trail only slightly in the percentage rate of White
users.
The World Bank Group (2007) chart reflects nearly half of the households with less than
$30,000 in household income use the Internet. The usage rate does rise upward as the
household income increases. The income level tops out with a 93% usage rate for household
incomes of $75,000 plus. According to American demographics (2007) the average family
income is $46,326 per year (pg. 2). Combining the American demographics (2007) data and
that of the World Bank Group (2007) reflects that the Internet user rate in the United States is
at 75%, as of January 11, 2007.
The World Bank group (2007) charts shows Internet usage increases dramatically with
the amount of formal education the user possesses. The users with less than a high school
education are the lowest Internet users with only a 36% participation rate. More than half of
those with a minimum of a high school education, 59%, use the Internet. Usage of those with

27

some college has an 84% user rate. The chart tops out with users with a college plus education
have an impressive Internet usage rate of 91%.
According to the iNetShops (1998-2005) information page over 55% of the users access
the Internet from their home computers. The 50 plus group is the highest age group which
pays for their Internet access at home; other users are more likely to gain access to the Internet
at work or at school. Interestingly, this reflects why the internet usage is 20-30% slower on
weekends and the busiest days are Monday-Thursday. About 72% of the female and 87% of
the male Internet users will access the web everyday. Nearly 45% use the web 1-4 times a day;
while 41% claim more frequent use and 15% say they use it less.
The iNetshops (1998-2005) research also reveals that the martial status of the Internet
user is 40% married and 41% unmarried. The age group of 25 and under is about 75% single,
whiles the age group of 50 plus is 75% married. The political affiliation of the American Internet
user leads towards the Democratic Party, 25%, over the Republican Party, 21% of those
surveyed.
In summary, the demographics of the World Bank Group (2007) Internet chart reveals
there is very little disparity between the male and female Internet users. This information
reflects a trend for the gender of the American Internet user is shifting from a largely male
percentage to a more equal gender usage percentage when comparing the data from iNetshop
(1998-2005) to the World Bank Group (2007) data. The trend in the Internet market continues
to change as faster technology is made available to more users. Leslie Taylor (2006) reports,

28

broadband penetration grew 13 percent last year to 95.5 million homes, which means 68
percent of active home Internet users now use a broadband connection, according to a study
released last week by Nielsen//NetRatings. Taylors information also discloses, the Internet is
becoming a central medium in the daily lives of those who have internet access. Internet user
habits are changing as the speed of broadband has increased the average persons usage of the
computer at home. Last year the average user used their computer 30.5 hours a month
compared to 25.5 hours a month just two years prior. The increase in the number of hours of
Internet use corresponds with the American demographic (2007) report, home internet users
with broadband spent on average 33% more time on line that those using narrow band
connections (pg. 2).
As broadband continues grow in the Internet marketplace, the trends will be for the
gender differential to continue to equalize. The growth in broadband customers will lead to
more hours spent using the Internet which by extension should result in a growth in sales for
the Internet providers.

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Market Analysis
The Yahoo! 10 K report (2007) states, Yahoo promotes their marketing services in a
highly competitive and rapidly changing global Internet market. Yahoo! considers developing
world-class marketing is their competitive advantage in the volatile market of cyberspace
technology. The services are offered to advertisers and their customers in over 20 different
languages and countries. Recognizing the different marketing needs of each distinctive market
is a fundamental approach for Yahoo!s marketing strategies. Segmenting each distinctive
market into an individual geographic group, Yahoo! can manage and measuring each segment
geographically. This enables Yahoo! to target the segment with customized marketing services
unique to the particular geographic market. Yahoo!s commitment to providing specialized
marketing services to a diverse global advertising populace is evidenced through their staffing
the international offices with indigenous personal. By utilizing the input of indigenous personal,
Yahoo! represents good global corporate citizenship. Yahoo! can offer better customer service
by providing for the unique cultural idiosyncrasies of each geographic market segment.
The Yahoo! brand is a highly recognized service on the Internet both in marketing and
search services. The marketing strategy to retain customer loyalty and to continue to build
brand recognition is to provide top quality customized marketing services through three
primary channels of communication: direct, online, and telemarketing. The direct sales teams
focal point is selling Yahoo!s marketing services and solutions to large advertisers. Online sales
are directed toward self-service programs which enable advertisers to tailor their websites to
specific target markets by attaching links to the websites which directs customers to
30

advertisers products. Telemarketings focal point is providing marketing services to medium

and small advertisers.
Yahoo! recently combined the management of Yahoo!s marketing services with their
search services to better meet the demands of the customers. Combing the management
teams under one managerial umbrella facilitates collaboration between the two services.
Collaborative communication will synthesize Yahoo!s internal strengths with new technological
advancements to adjoin value-added components to their services. The combining action
promotes Yahoo!s competitive advantage strategy of continuing to provide customized
advertising to attract, retain, and engage users while experiencing demographic changes in the
geographic market segments.
Yahoo!s fundamental marketing approach is the continuance of product development
and properly managing each market segment to ensure the Internet user is experiencing the
best services Yahoo! can offer. Yahoo! ascertains their marketing sector is involved in each step
of product development, management to understand our services, and the best method to
convey the services to the advertisers and the Internet user. Yahoo!s marketing program
utilizes all forms of media to convey their products to the geographical audiences of existing
and potential users. The media consists of: online, television, print, radio and outdoor
advertising. The use of all forms of advertising is to bring the right service to the right people
at the right time (pg. 12).

31

The customized marketing strategy is consistent with the development under Yahoo!
Fusion Services according to Joan Raymond (2001). The Fusion Service integrated an
additional service in 2001 called Yahoo! ?Buzz Index. The Buzz Index gives a snapshot of
whats hot and whats not with daily updates on data drawn from the visited websites which
Yahoo! informs the advertisers with the derived data (pg. 1). The advertisers are enabled to
make critical marketing amendments to adapt quickly to the changes taking place in their
particular market share. By informing advertisers to the website visiting habits of their
customers, Yahoo! continues to market their services to the Internet users (pg. 2). Yahoo!s
information pool is derived from another source Yahoo! has crafted into their marketing
strategy. Yahoo! requires their users to register for their search services. A user in the
registration process gives their demographic DNA away to the information data bank.
Allowing, Yahoo! to aid the advertisers with additional data for their website designs (pg. 3).
The data and service additions coincide with the customized marketing strategy centered on
the geographical target markets established by Yahoo!.
As Yahoo! strives to provide world-class marketing to the Internet user, Yahoo! has to
adapt to the changes in demographic trends being experienced in the United States market.
The marketing strategies which Yahoo! has in place at present will enable them to react quickly
to geographic target market shifts. At present, according to statistics by the Demographics of
the Internet User (2007), North America has the highest Internet usage penetration by
population than any other global market. To provide for the customized service for the United
States in particular, Yahoo! staffs sales offices in eleven major cities dispersed throughout the
32

states (Yahoo! 10K 2007, pg. 12). Target marketing the United States as one of their
geographical market segments, Yahoo! should experience an increase in the user population as
broadband technology reaches a larger high-speed Internet audience. Leslie Taylor (2006)
states, monthly user time increases by 30% after the installation of broadband connections are
made available to users. Yahoo!s customized geographic market segment approach will be
able to handle the emerging market trends and integrate the pooled data for advertisers to
implement advertising tactics to increase market penetration.

33

CPM
Competitive Profile Matrix
Yahoo

Google

MSN

Critical Success Factors

Weight

Ratin
g

Strong Brand Recognition

0.15

0.60

0.60

0.60

Talented Employee Base

0.10

0.30

0.40

0.30

Culture of
Innovation/Accountability

0.10

0.20

0.40

0.40

Advertising

0.15

0.45

0.60

0.45

International Markets

0.20

0.80

0.40

0.60

Powerful Business
Relationships

0.05

0.15

0.15

0.20

Customer Loyalty

0.15

0.60

0.60

0.45

Market Share

0.10

0.30

0.40

0.20

Total

1.00

34

Scor
e

Ratin
g

Scor
e

Ratin
g

Scor
e

3.40

3.55

3.2

Yahoo!s competitive profile matrix (CPM) weighs international markets, .20, as the most
important item on the list of critical success factors. Yahoo!s score on this factor is the
highest in comparison to their two chief competitors, Google and MSN, reflecting a distinctive
competitive advantage in the Internet market. Strong brand recognition has a weight, .15,
assigned which replicates a high level of importance on the CPM. Maintaining strong brand
recognition to retain market share is rated and scored highly in the industry by all three
companies on the matrix. The customer loyalty factor weight, .15, discloses Yahoos ranking
and score as second to Google; yet remaining ahead of MSN. The advertising factor weight,
.015, rates Yahoo! and MSN equal; yet behind Google, the industry leader for this factor.
Talented employee base weight, .10, rates and scores equal to MSN; yet lags behind Google.
Yahoo! lags behind considerably in comparison to Google and MSN on the culture and
innovation and accountability factor. The factor weight, .10, on Yahoos CPM does not reflect
a high level in ranking the critical success factors, but does release valuable information in
comparison to their competitors on the CPM. Yahoo! rates and scores the lowest on this
factor. Market share weight, .10, shows Yahoo! is second to Google; yet leads MSN. Weighing
the powerful business relationships factor the least, .05, Yahoo! ranks and scores evenly with
Google; yet MSN holds the top score and rating on this factor.

35

SWOT MATRIX:
STRENGTHS:

WEAKNESSES:

1)
Yahoo! Inc. has beaten
Google in the mobile market.

1)
Yahoo! is ranked 5 in
visitors among video sites.
YouTube which is owned by
st
Google is ranked 1 .

2)
Yahoo! Inc. has many
more auxiliary products
compared to the competition.
3)
Yahoo! Inc. has strong
brand recognition.
4)
Access is available to
anyone with internet access.
5)

Partnerships with
MLB, VISA and
NFL.

th

2)
Yahoo! image search
has been declining 3% per year.
3)
Google search results
generate twice as much
revenue as Yahoo!.
4)

Advertising
revenues are
falling due to
Google and other
competitors in the
market.

OPPORTUNITIES:

SO STRATEGIES:

WO STRATEGIES:

1)
Internet video
advertising spending expected
to increase by 82% to $410
million by 2006.

1)
S3 O1 : Revamp the
current video site and
encourage advertising on the
site by using the strong brand
strength and recognition of
Yahoo!.

1) W1 O1: Use internet video

advertising boom to strengthen
Yahoo! video sites.

2)
Yahoo! Inc has
purchased Flickr.
3)

Broadband
expansion.

4)
Yahoo! has a strong
and talented employee base.
5)
Yahoo! Has
penetrated markets that are
still untouched by competitors.

36

2)
S5 O2: Use Flickr as a
new means of advertising for
the partnerships with VISA,
MLB and NFL.
3)
S4 O5: Use Yahoo!s
current expanded to market to
target advertisers in these
countries.

2) W1 O2: Use Flickr as a tool

to developing a better video
site.
3) W2 O2: Increase Flickrs
capabilities in order to reverse
the decline in mage search on
Yahoo!

THREATS:

ST STRATEGIES:

WT STRATEGIES:

1)
Google commands
about 50% of all online
searches and Yahoo! has only
24% according to
Neilson/NetRating.

1) S3 S5 T1: Use Yahoo!s

brand recognition and its
partnerships with MLB, NFL and
VISA to promote searches on
Yahoo!.

1)
W4 T1: Increase
advertising for Yahoo! search
engines to increase users.

2)
Consumer attitudes
towards online advertising may
become more negative.

2) S3 T4: Use Yahoo! brand

recognition to build a social
website through Yahoo! Inc.

3)
Increasing strength of
competitors.
4)
Social websites such as
MySpace and Facebook are
now breaking into the online
advertising market.
5)

Google is
surpassing Yahoo!
in revenues.

After developing the SWOT matrix it seems to be in the companys best interest to pursue a
strategy that focuses on increasing their advertising revenues. Yahoo!s most predominant
strength is their brand recognition. In developing a strategy for Yahoo!, the company should
use their strong brand recognition to entice more advertisers for their site. They also must
concentrate their efforts on upgrading and advancing their target advertising capabilities.

37

QSPM
KEY FACTORS
OPPORTUNITIES:
Internet video advertising expected to increase by 82%.
Yahoo! Inc has purchased Flickr
Broadband expansion

THREATS:
Google command about 50% of all online searches and Yahoo!
has only 24%
Consumer attitudes towards online advertising may become more
negative
Increasing strength of competitors
Social websites are no breaking into the advertising market
(MySpace)
Google is surpassing Yahoo! in revenues

STRENGTHS:
Yahoo! Inc has beaten Google in the mobile market
Yahoo! Inc has many auxiliary operations
Strong brand recognition
Access available to anyone with internet access
Partnerships with MLB, NFL and VISA

WEAKNESSES:
Ranked 5th in visitors among video sites. YouTube owned by
Google is 1st
Image search has been declining 3% per year
Google search results generate twice as much revenue than
Yahoo!
Advertising revenues are falling due to competition

WEIGH
T

Strategy 1

Strategy 2

0.2
0.1
0.2

AS
4
4
4

TAS
0.8
0.4
0.8

AS
3
4
4

TAS
0.6
0.4
0.8

0.2

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

0.05
0.1

2
2

0.1
0.2

1
1

0.05
0.1

0.05
0.1
1

2
1

0.1
0.1

1
1

0.05
0.1

0.05
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.5

2
4
4
4
4

0.1
0.4
0.4
0.8
2

1
4
4
4
4

0.05
0.4
0.4
0.8
2

0.1
0.1

1
2

0.1
0.2

1
2

0.1
0.2

0.1
0.2
1

2
2

0.2
0.4
7.1

1
2

0.1
0.4
6.55

Strategy 1: Google search results generate twice as much revenue per year
than Yahoo!
Strategy 2: Google Commands 50% of all online searches and Yahoo has
only 24%
Conclusion: Both strategies are desirable for the company. However, Strategy 1 is slightly higher in
desirability at this time. Yahoo! Inc. should consider implementing a strategy that increases the
desirability of their video site.

38

Space Matrix
Conservative

FS

Aggressive

3
2
1
0
CA

-2

-1 0

IS

1
2
3
Defensive

Competitve
ES

INTERNAL STRATEGIC POSITION

EXTERNAL STRATEGIC POSITION

FINANCIAL STRENGTH

ENVIRONMENTAL STABILITY

Market Capital

Technological Changes

Return on Equity

Rates of Inflation

Current Ratio

Demand variability

Gross Profit Margin

Competitive pressure

COMPETITVE ADVANATAGE

INDUSTRY STRENGTH

Market share

Growth potential

Customer loyalty

Profit potential

Website quality

Financial stability

Technological know how

39

Ease of entry into the market

FINANCIAL STRENGTH

RATING

The market capital for Yahoo! is 37.25 billion, Google is 150.03 billion and

the industry is 296.7 million.

The return on equity for Yahoo! is 8.5%, Google is 23.26% and the industry

is 12.1%.
The current ratio for Yahoo! is 2.54, Google is 10.

The gross profit margin for Yahoo! is 3.75 billion and Google is 6.38 billion.

3
9

INDUSTRY STRENGTH
There is unlimited growth potential in the industry due to the increasing use

of the internet.
There is an increase in the amount of advertiser spending on the internet

which will create high profit potential.

The industry is stable due to the increasing use of the internet.

New internet companies are not as lucrative as Yahoo! and Google so

therefore the ease of entry into the market is relatively low.

20
ENVIRONEMENTAL STABILITY
Technological changes are occurring rapidly.

-3

Inflation will hinder profit in overseas ventures.

-5

Demand is relatively stable for advertising on the internet.

-1

There is an increase in competitive pressure between Yahoo!, Google,

-4

MSN and other well known companies.

-13
COMPETETIVE ADVANTAGE

40

The market share is increasing globally.

-1

Customer loyalty is very low.

-5

Websites are increasing in quality and ease for all users.

-1

Technological changes are increasing the demand for technological experts.

-3
-10

CONCLUSION
ES Average is -13/4 = -3.25.

IS Average is 20/4 = 5.

CA Average is -10/4 = -2.5.

FS Average is 9/4 = 2.25

Directional Vector Coordinates:

X-axis: -2.5 + (+5) = 2.75

Y-axis: -3.25 + (+2.25) = -1

Yahoo! should pursue conservative strategies.

The SPACE matrix has shown that Yahoo! Inc., should pursue a strategy that is conservative
rather than aggressive, defensive or competitive. This along with the SWOT matrix shows that
Yahoo! should pursue a strategy that increases their advertising revenue by upgrading their
target advertising capabilities.

41

Strategic Issues
As demonstrated in the QSPM, CPM, and SWOT matrix, Yahoo has significant issues in
the category of search. As discussed in the previous sections of this report though, Yahoo sees
itself as a portal company. A website whos primary motive is connecting the world with its
information.
This is a fantastic goal, but one that Yahoo needs to abandon. Yahoos search product
has suffered considerably, because of expansion into other areas. They grew up a purveyor of
portals, but began to feel content in their search, forgetting that it was the reason people
visited their site. Instead, the company focused supreme effort in the realm of content. Yahoo
tried to remain sticky, so that users would have incentive to come back.
This precise area was long thought to be Googles weakness. The lack of a sign in
feature would permit users to go elsewhere. Instead, it has brought more people to the site
because Google is easy to use and not feature laden. The search feature is straightforward and
simple. In addition, Google has added the advertising network, marketing the ads as a further
enabler.
There are four basic problems which are the source of Yahoos falling revenue and
reduced cash flow. Those issues are:
Googles Search results generate twice as much revenue as Yahoos search results.
Advertising rates are falling due to Google and other competitors
Google commands about 50% of all online searches, and it is increasing every quarter
Increasing strength of competitors in the portal market

42

Googles search results generate twice as much revenue as Yahoos results:

In 2006, Yahoo generated $6.4 billion in revenue. This total was up from $5.3 billion in
2005. Google, on the other hand, had revenues of $10.6 billion. In 2005, Googles figures came
in at approximately $6.1 billion. The reason? Search.
Google has consistently honed its search algorithm to include the advertising network.
This has led to very tight connections between keywords and ad placements. Advertisers pay
when their ads are displayed next to relevant content, and only when they are clicked by a user.
Furthermore, Google has opened up their advertising network to outside publishers;
namely webmasters with smaller sites, buy who still generate traffic. When an ad is click on
their site, the webmaster shares in the profit.
Yahoo has begun development of a similar ad network which will take advantage of the
large base of independent website owners. The problem is Yahoo will need to take these
publishers away from Googles products. This beta program has been in development for over
a year, and it is rumored that Yahoo pays a higher share of those ad dollars than their rival. The
system is still flawed though, because advertisements which are displayed are not cohesive
with the content provided.
Therefore, Yahoo needs to invest time and money into perfecting the algorithm which
serves those ads. Until then, they will remain in second place.

43

Advertising rates are falling due to Google and other competitors

At the time of this writing, Yahoo has hundreds of competitors in the PPC and web
advertising market, but none are as uniquely positioned except for Google. Each of these minor
competitors have less identifiable brands and little to no traffic to capitalize on.
With the minor competition though, the average cost of a pay per click advertisement
has fallen. The keywords which are the anchor for the advertisement process are starting to
decrease in price because of increased competition through the entire sector. Google and
Yahoo offer a premium service, so they charge more. Their competitors charge less so that
they may capture customers, hence lowering the overall revenue of the larger companies.
With Googles prevalence and the minor competitors, Yahoo needs to clean up their ad
serving algorithm before they will recognize a shift in their revenues.
Google commands about 50% of all online searches, and it is increasing every quarter
In order for Yahoo to challenge the quickly growing Google, they need to refocus on
what their users are there for - search. It isnt Yahoo Finance, Autos, or Groups; it is search.
Plain and simple.
When that search is cluttered, irrelevant, or wrong, it drives users away.

44

Increasing strength of competitors in the portal market

A portal is defined as a starting point for Web activities. Yahoo has done a brilliant job
conveying this role to its users. They have spent millions of dollars to build out the site and
acquire web commodities, all so their visitors will stay longer.
The major weakness of this strategy is that there are competitors doing better. These
competitors are social networking sites. Social networks are the sites that allow users to
connect. They are wrought with user generated content, uploaded images, mailing capabilities,
etc. They allow users to connect. Yahoos strategy of providing content which users sift
through is being challenged.
In Summary
Yahoo is being challenged on four fronts, all tied closely to search. These include lower
revenues in the advertising networks due to competitors, Googles dominance in the search
and advertising space, inefficient search results, and the changing face of portals.
The company needs to come to the realization that search is their future, with
advertising intertwined. Once their core competencies have shifted successfully from a portal
strategy to a company relying on its search algorithm, they can begin to implement the
advertising strategies that have proven useful in banner ad integration, for the contextual
advertising market.

45

The first step is refining their search algorithm, though. Yahoo may even combine their
intense focus on portals to deliver more focused results in their queries. For instance, they can
leverage the power of social networks and blogs, quantifying the links and keywords in a format
that Google has yet to recognize. In short, Yahoo can be the dominant search engine by
applying a new age search algorithm to its rankings.
Coupled with this algorithm, they can deliver smarter text advertising. Yahoo is the only
search engine that not only quantifies the linking text, or anchor words which transport you to
another site, but also the surrounding keywords. For example, if a user is reading an article
about spyware removal, and the link is placed in the word spyware, then Yahoo would be able
to distinguish that three words before spyware removal was the brand name of a piece of
software. Then, if a user clicked on the link, they would instantaneously be served an ad for
that spyware solution.
This new advertising structure will need to be expanded to meet the demands of the
independent webmasters in charge of various, niche sites. Payouts should be slightly higher
because they are breaking into Googles area.
By Yahoo focusing on improving its search algorithm, they will be directly addressing
their diminishing user base. People are leaving because the search results arent as relevant as
Googles. So change the algorithm to account for more factors than Googles does.
Advertisers are advertising with Yahoo because their implementation is faulty; their
search engine is flawed. Clean up the search results, and that problem will disappear.
46

In the end, Yahoo needs to deliver a more value added product. Not in the form of
more portal pages or more section to their website, but a more flawless search engine. The
rest can be harnessed from that.

Strategy Implementation
Yahoo will move forward with one core competency, which is search. They will focus
their resources on developing the algorithm necessary to key in on social networks and portals
because of their background in the history. They will design and implement a better solution.
Their ad network will be integrated into the search algorithm to pick up related
keywords in linking text and content. This will be coupled with webmaster utilization so that
outside publishers may benefit from Yahoos resources and advertising network. All in all, the
outside influence will increase Yahoos revenue.
The strategic implementation will follow this path:
1. Redirect Employees
2. Refine the Algorithm
3. Implement the Algorithm
4. Refocus the Advertising Network
5. Expand the Ad Network
6. Implement Outside Publishers

47

Redirect Employees
The strategic implementation will be such that no employees will be laid off. They will
simply be redirected. The core mission of Yahoo for over a decade has been to focus as a
portal. They were told to expand the network, not make it better. Their new initiative will be
to forget about expansion, and refine the search capabilities of the site. Hence, forming the
foundation of the new company strategy.
The first thing that needs to be done is alert everyone of the change. This will take place
in a top-down manner. First the upper level managers will be met with, then down from there.
The first day, each of the 10,000 employees will need to be notified in one form or another.
Depending on the shift patterns, or whether the managers believe it is necessary to alert them
individually, they will all be contacted. In charge of the project will also be two individuals, one
task oriented and one more inclined to deal with the emotional side.
The next step will be redirecting employees work habits. For those who will be
switching groups (going from the portal philosophy to the search initiative), they will be moved
to different offices. Their desks, computers, etc. will be switched. They will have a new cubicle
or office with the search team. Once there, it will be possible to start separating the individuals
into team so that the search strategy can be attacked. Some will work through code while
others will research.

48

Refine the Algorithm

This team will then come together under the two project managers, or under their
supervision to some extent. They will apply the research and programming knowledge to plan
out and refine a new algorithm for Yahoo. This will entail the variables of a groups who have
been tasked with research. They are the ones who will provide the ideas and thoughts on the
setup. The programmers will begin to put their thoughts into something a computer can
interpret, otherwise known as coding.
After the algorithm has been coded, it will be tested thoroughly. Those same
researchers will be responsible for trying to break it. They will test for the validity of the page
ranking techniques and make sure that everything is on par. If there are discrepancies, they will
alert the managers and the programmers and come up with a solution as soon as possible.
In traditional coding projects, up to 90% of the time is put into the planning stage.
Therefore, the emotionally oriented leader will be the one coaching this session. The task
oriented will issue objectives, but will play a sub-crucial role in the projects development. He
will instead focus on the design aspects and how they relate to the coding. He will not be
pushing the researchers to extraordinary limits.
After the search is sufficiently refined, it goes to the implementation phase.

49

Implement the Algorithm

This phase is simply the rollout of the new search algorithm. The algorithm should be
soft launched without any real marketing behind it initially. In order to successfully work, the
mass of users need to test out the algorithm before it is marketed thoroughly.
This stage will call for all hands on deck to combat issues taking place in the algorithm
itself. Emergency coding may be necessary as well.
Once the launch has been successfully pulled off, it is necessary to market it efficiently.
This can be done through online ads placed at high traffic sites, such as was done when Yahoo
got their facelift six months ago.
Refocus the Advertising Network
With the successful product launch, it is now necessary to integrate the advertising
software into the search engine. This can be done using the techniques used before the new
algorithm, but using better keyword data which the new search algorithm is providing.
The people who researched the algorithm will be tasked with promoting the new
features on the website. They will be the soft touch of the advertisement relaunch, and led by
the emotionally oriented leader. The task oriented manager will be at the helm of the
advertising network relaunch.

50

Expand the Ad Network

The expansion of the ad network will include accepting new advertisers and publishers
into the advertisement process. Infrastructure needs will be handled by the programmers. The
researchers will be encouraging new publishers to sign up and handling the emails, while
approving the new publishers.
The Implementation of Outside Publishers
As the final step in the relaunch, the coders will continue to refine the advertisement
algorithms so that it ensures absolute targeting. The other employees will continue to handle
the soft side of the business; getting new publishers, providing for the existing ones, and
handling feedback.
The Summary
This search engine relaunch is a difficult and painstaking process, but it will refocus the
business in the most profitable way possible. Having a good base to establish a advertising
network is the best way to go forward for growth. If the search algorithm is failing, then an
advertising network built on top of it will be leaking dollars.
This strategy will help Yahoo maintain the brand while allowing it to refocus the core of
its business.

51

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