Jury is Still Out on Panama
A couple weeks ago, comScore indicated that Yahoo!’s new search ads, delivered on the new platform called Panama, saw a jump in click-through rates. Yahoo!’s stock has reaped the benefits, growing more than their competitor Google so far in 2007.
However, according to information released by ad agency Avenue A | Razorfish indicates that Panama is drooping in its efficiency.
Avenue A’s 33 clients confirm the positive news regarding Panama so far. They saw average click-through rates increase an average of 10% during the 10 days following Panama’s unveiling, compared to the 10 days before the release.
Cost-per-click also dropped an average of 6%, while search impressions increased an average of 5% over the same period.
However, these encouraging signs are a bit tarnished by the finding that conversion rates dropped by an average of 5% during the 10 days after Panama’s debut. In addition, cost-per-acquisition increased 6% during this time period.
Still, it seems that Yahoo! has a lot to look forward to with Panama. UBS is expecting Yahoo!’s search revenue to jump 45% thanks to Panama, so long as related growth figures are met.
Scott Van Achte, a contributor at WebProNews, wrote an article last week about the pros and cons of Panama. “While it is not without its shortcomings,” he writes, “this new system is a large improvement and I for one welcome it with open arms.”
It appears that this is the sentiment that most people are adopting, which means that Yahoo! should have a 2007 that is a whole lot brighter than the dreary 2006.
Sources:
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=
Articles.showArticle&art_aid=56519
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=
Articles.showArticle&art_aid=56143
http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2007/03/01/pros-and-
cons-of-yahoo-panama
