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February 27, 2007

Yesterday, comScore Networks released the results of a survey analyzing the improvement in Yahoo’s CTR (click-through rates) for its sponsored search ads since the launch of its new Panama search platform.

Yahoo's introduction of its new ranking model is the second phase in the rollout of its newer advertising system.

comScore's report is based on the Internet behavior of its sample of one million online users in the United States.

Overall, the week ending Feb. 4 was adopted as the official baseline for sponsored search click-through rates (CTR) before Yahoo's new ranking model launched.

comScore studied the two subsequent weeks of CTR data to evaluate the overall impact of the new ranking model.

comScore’s newly-published data reveal that for each of the two weeks subsequent to the launch, Yahoo Sites experienced a noticeable boost in its sponsored search CTR.

For the week ending Feb. 11, a 5 percent increase was noted, while the week ending Feb. 18 showed an even higher 9 percent increase.

“comScore's analyzis report suggest that the recent introduction of Yahoo’s new Panama platform is already having a positive impact on the CTR for Yahoo’s search advertising,” said James Lamberti, comScore senior v.p. of media and search solutions.

Lamberti added “comScore will continue to monitor the performance of Yahoo's new ranking model and plans to issue an additional analysis at the end of the first quarter.”

Another anticipated result of Yahoo’s new ranking model is a shift in composition of total click volume from algorithmic to sponsored. These new numbers represent increases of 0.5 and 1.0 points in the weeks following the new ranking model launch.

John Battelle, CEO and publisher of Federated Media said "while still in its early stages, any good news for Panama is good news for Yahoo, and overall, this early study shows good news.”

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Source: comScore Networks