Meet the Main Paid Search Players

Google and Yahoo dominate - Microsoft lurks in the background

Google AdWords has been the dominant force in PPC advertising for some years. Until recently, Yahoo Search marketing has been the only other player of note. Microsoft adCenter is a new arrival and whilst it does not have the market share of its two rivals, it is Microsoft and therefore cannot be ignored.

Whilst all of these providers offer features such as sophisticated monitoring and reporting tools to track advert performance, program setup for just $5, budgetary control, targeting and distribution networks; they differ in the extent and strength of these features. And their market share will influence the price of clicks.

Google Adwords

Google AdWords has always been at the forefront of paid listings. It was the first to introduce the concept of ‘quality’ as well as bid price in determining an advert’s position. In addition to appearing on Google’s search result pages, adverts can also optionally show in Google’s search network (AOL, Netscape, Lycos, Ask, Earthlink to name but a few) and Google’s content network (AdSense users).

Yahoo Search Marketing

Formerly Overture and GoTo, Yahoo Search Marketing has been playing catch-up with Google AdWords by incorporating quality rankings, ‘black box’ bidding and immediate advert activation in its recently announced Panama upgrade. Yahoo’s distribution network includes MSN, Orange, AltaVista and AllTheWeb.

Microsoft adCenter

Microsoft adCenter was launched in 2006. It has some catching up to do in terms of market share, but it established its credentials straight away by being the first to offer geographic, demographic and daypart targeting.

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