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Overture
gets a new name
By Jennifer LeClaire, originale in:
www.technewsworld.com
 As the
Search Engine Strategies Conference gets rolling in New York this week,
Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) announced this morning a pair of significant
moves: The company said it is launching a developer network for
programmers and also unveiled plans for a rebranding strategy for its
Overture (Nasdaq: OVER) unit.
The Yahoo Search Developer Network is designed to be a one-stop resource for
developers, according to Yahoo, with access to Web service application
programming interfaces (APIs) for Yahoo Search products as well as for
Overture's long-standing API programs. In open-source fashion, the network
will offer developers sample code and tools to share ideas and expertise as
well as the ability to showcase applications.
"We believe that it is critical to provide the development community with
both the search APIs and interactive resources to help foster the discovery
of innovative applications leveraging Yahoo Search Technology," said Dr.
David Ku, director of engineering, Yahoo Search, in a statement. "We have
worked closely with the development community to create a new program
designed to stimulate open discussion, experimentation and development of
new search applications."
Rebranding
for Dollars
Kelsey Group analyst Greg
Sterling said that anything Yahoo can do to make Overture more popular and
more user-friendly from the back-end is a positive move. "Making Overture
much more developer-friendly increases the likelihood of adoption," he told
the E-Commerce Times today, among the buzz on the floor of the Search Engine
Strategies Conference & Expo.
Of course, Yahoo's second announcement means that Sterling and others will
soon have to call Overture by a new name: Yahoo Search Marketing Solutions.
Nearly two years after the company agreed to pay US$1.63 billion for
Overture Services to beef up its search solutions, Yahoo said it plans to
rebrand the subsidiary early next quarter.
Yahoo executives said the new brand will bring together sponsored search
offerings and listings products in an effort to offer advertisers convenient
access to the company's search marketing and related products and services.
"Our mission is to be essential to marketers of all types around the world,"
said Yahoo senior vice president Ted Meisel. "Unifying all of our search
marketing and related products under one banner and one common approach
reflects our commitment to integrate and simplify online advertising,
allowing businesses of all sizes to take advantage of the Yahoo Search
marketing solutions that best fit their marketing goals."
Catering
to Small Business
In conjunction with
Overture's rebranding, Yahoo will launch a new Advertising Solutions Center
in the U.S., through which businesses can plan and buy Yahoo Search
Marketing Solutions products. In addition, the new center will offer
marketers information about Yahoo's customized, creative media solutions.
Sterling said although he doesn't
expect a mass exodus by advertisers after today's announcements, changing
Overture's name is significant because it creates a unified brand for both
businesses and consumers.
"Despite its pioneering role in the space, Overture is not the household
name that
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has become," he said. "What Google has been able
to leverage is the power of its brand. Yahoo is a much better known brand
and over the long term this will be a very positive step."
Since many small business owners use
Yahoo to search for products and information, Sterling said they are
automatically exposed to Yahoo as a search marketing vehicle. Combined with
Yahoo's Web hosting e-commerce platforms and domain name services, the
company's announcement rounds out an integrated strategy that Sterling
predicted will help Yahoo get a leg up in today's highly competitive search
landscape.
Yahoo has
launched a new web site for programmers and web developers that wants to
make use of the Yahoo! search engines in their products. In Yahoo's own
words: [Yahoo's Search Web Services] are a way for application developers to
access content and services to build new applications. For example, you can
combine our data and services with those you create in a desktop application
or those offered by other web sites." The Yahoo! Search Developers Network (YSDN)
contains
documentation,
mailing lists,
a weblog,
a Wiki (a discussion forum), and more.
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