AltaVista Testing Paid Search Results

From: <richard_at_tenagra.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 14:25:25 -0500 (CDT)

Hey all,

I got this excerpt from one of my sources. It is part of a
letter from DoubleClick (who reps Altavista) to its
customers, sent on April 7th.

<START EXCERPT>
Dear valued DoubleClick customers:

When users perform keyword searches on AltaVista, what is
the first listing they see? Now it can be your company's
listing. Why is this listing so important? The first search
result is extremely visible. Keyword-triggered advertising
yields highly targeted users. Automatic advertiser
credibility as first listing. Risk-free cost-per-click
pricing model means you pay only for results.

These positions will be auctioned on a cost-per-click basis
to determine the fair market value. Purchase the first or
second listing and the user will see your text link at the
top of the result page. As a courtesy during the initial
auction period, AltaVista will make this opportunity
available only to current advertisers. We invite you to
participate as a charter partner.

Winning bidders will appear as the #1 text link on AltaVista
keyword search result pages for three weeks, from April 19
to May 9, 1999. Participants in the auction can monitor
competitive bids online. AltaVista's goal is to improve the
relevance of search results. Therefore, the content of the
website, as well as its title and description, must be
relevant to the keyword purchased. For example, Ford Trucks
cannot buy the keyword football to target young male users.
The opportunity to bid and secure these top keyword listings
begins on April 7 at 9 a.m. EST, and ends April 14, 1999 at
8 p.m. EST. Minimum bid: $0.25 per keyword. Minimum bid
increments: $0.05 The second auction runs from April 19 to
May 5, 1999. Winning bids for the second action are
scheduled to go live on May 10 and run for a three-week
period ending May 30, 1999. Bidders will be notified by
e-mail when their bids are accepted or exceeded. Winning
bidders will be notified and asked to confirm the URL, title
and description.

</END EXCERPT>

It appears that Altavista is testing the pay-per-click model
developed by Goto.com.

This is an accurate report, as Wired News broke this story
yesterday afternoon. See:

A Search For the Highest Bidder
Wired News
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/19110.html

Polly Sprenger, the Wired News reporter who wrote the story,
confirmed with DoubleClick's West Coast marketing manager
that the terms outlined in this excerpt were accurate.
However, they would not comment further.

Opinions anyone? I have at least one:

If I were a search engine optimization company, I'd be
worried. If this catches on, no one will need their services
anymore.

Any other comments?


richard


--------------------------------------------------------
richard hoy
moderator, online advertising discussion list
vice president, marketing and client promotions
the tenagra corporation
http://www.tenagra.com/
p: 281.480.6300 | f: 281.480.7715 | e: rhoy_at_tenagra.com
--------------------------------------------------------







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Received on Wed Apr 14 1999 - 14:53:18 CDT