Yahoo today announced the Yahoo Search Marketing Commercial API Program that will provide businesses and developers free and open access to the Panama search marketing application program interfaces (APIs).
The program will give advertisers, developers, ad agencies and technology providers the ability to build upon Yahoo’s core search marketing technologies to enhance their existing business offerings or create brand new search marketing tools and applications.
Susan Decker, head of Yahoo!’s Advertiser & Publisher Group said that opening up Panama was all about gaining market share: “By providing open access to our technology, we are making a clear investment in our advertising partners, creating new opportunities for developers, and taking a key step toward achieving our vision to build the industry’s leading advertising and publishing ecosystem.”
Opening up Panama to free API access can be either of two things: inspired thinking or desperation. Given the huge lead time it took to deliver Panama in the first place this feels like a decision that is the former, after all nothing at Yahoo moves quickly enough to act from a position of desperation. Developers will likely pull apart the new program in the coming days and strictly from that viewpoint the offer will definitely be welcomed in the industry and could potentially throw down a stronger challenge in the quest to topple Google’s dominant Adwords platform.
Can somebody give a quick synopsis of panama?
We’ll see if it’s actually easier to maintain campaigns and get them approved and running, that’s the main problem with their past attempts for me. Before they start adding stuff on it’d be nice if they got into the same realm of ease as AdWords.
Good luck toppling AdWords, don’t see that happening anytime soon – especially by Yahoo…
is that true yahoo done this
It’s called “Yahoo Search Marketing Commercial API Program”? That’s the worst product name I’ve ever heard.
heh Panama – was mere integration from – Overture / to total Yahoo
– an amazingly week program / compared to the simplistic powerful adwords.
-Rbowles
I have to agree with you, Isaac, it’s not a very flattering or “brandable” name. Looks to me like they named it that because they want other companies to develop solutions and interfaces (I wonder why? LOL) rather than smaller one-man shops to develop scripts.
you bet… you should read thousands developers, users comments. I never register Yahoo Panama. hahahahhaha
Google adsense still rules.
I was reading the Wikipedia description of Yahoo! Search Marketing:
http://en.wikip....org/wiki/Yahoo!_Search_Marketing
It turns out that Yahoo! Search Marketing evolved from the acquisition of Overture. And Overture had a 3 year partnership with Gator Corporation (now known as Claria Corp.) from 2003-2006. I remember Gator Corporation and from what I remember, I hated them. Gator seemed like spyware to me.
I also think that it would be wise for Claria to exit the Adware business and its even better news that they stopped supporting GAIN pop-up ads last year.
Any word on when Yahoo! Search Marketing will open for everyone? I wanted to explore their interface to see how it would possibly compete with the Google AdWords/AdSense divisions.
Ok, I’m still in the dark as to what exactly is Panama?
As I read the replys, it seems that panama is just yahoo’s version of google adwords? Is there something else?
Thanks
Wayne
Panama is Yahoo’s web-based tool for placing, managing and optimizing keywords advertising. Panama is also Yahoo’s attempt to compete directly with Google for advertising dollars by: 1) enabling broad matching to attach an ad onto a relevant content page 2) increase the user experience by providing merchants “bonus value” for higher clickthrough (a.k.a click-through index) and 3) provide ad planning and scheduling tools to increase advertising spend. The platform has been heavily criticized by users as slow, confusing and error prone.
This API should create an opportunity for outside developers, advertisign agencies and merchants, to improve their advertising spend. Google’s API is good but google imposed quota’s make it difficult to really use for increasing ROI.
Hope that helps…wayne
Options are good. However I can’t help but sing the song “Panama” to myself whenever I see the name
Wayne Lambright: Panama is a country.