Yahoo! and Overture Extend Pay-For-Performance Search Agreement
Overture Continues to Power Successful Yahoo! Sponsor Matches Program
Sunnyvale & Pasadena, CA -- April 25, 2002 -- Yahoo! Inc., a leading global Internet company, and Overture Services, Inc., the world's leading provider of Pay-For-Performance search to Web sites across the Internet, today announced that they have extended their relationship to a three-year agreement to distribute Overture's search listings through Yahoo! Sponsor Matches.Under the agreement, Overture will continue to provide Yahoo! with its editorially reviewed Pay-For-Performance search results from its growing base of 60,000 advertisers. This agreement is a renewal of a relationship that began in November 2001. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We will continue to leverage our strength as the leading search platform and are extremely pleased to be working with an industry leader like Overture," said Terry Semel, chairman and chief executive officer, Yahoo! Inc. "Search and paid listings are key growth areas for Yahoo! and with the strong success of Sponsor Matches since its launch in November, we are looking forward to providing even more comprehensive and enhanced search opportunities for advertisers and consumers."
Yahoo! Sponsor Matches is an enhanced placement program that gives Web sites increased visibility in Yahoo!'s search results, distinguished in clearly demarcated sections. Since its inception, the Yahoo! Sponsor Matches program has shown strong performance and experienced click-through rates considerably higher than the industry average. Businesses are able to reach their targeted consumers more effectively through enhanced placement in search results on keywords that are relevant to their business and consumers are able to find services that are relevant to their needs.
"We are excited to announce this long-term partnership with one of the most popular destination sites on the Internet," said Ted Meisel, president and chief executive officer, Overture Services, Inc. "It is clear that Yahoo! views search as a strategic priority and we look forward to developing new search products with them in the future."
Overture's search results are generated by Overture's 60,000 advertisers who bid for placement on keywords that are relevant to their businesses. These listings are carefully screened by Overture's 100-person editorial team before being distributed to the company's affiliate partner network, which includes many of the Internet's most popular destination sites.
About Overture (formerly GoTo)
Overture, (Nasdaq: OVER - news), formerly known
as GoTo, is the leader in Pay-For-Performance search on the Internet. The company
created the market for Pay-For-Performance search by redefining how businesses market
online. In the first quarter of 2002, Overture facilitated more than 587 million
paid introductions on a worldwide basis between consumers and its approximately
60,000 advertisers, who bid for placement on relevant search results and pay Overture
only when a consumer clicks on their listing. Following a rigorous screening for
user relevance by Overture's 100-person editorial team, the company distributes
its search results to tens of thousands of sites across the Internet, including
America Online, Microsoft and Yahoo! - making it the largest Pay-For-Performance
search and advertising network on the Internet. Overture is based in Pasadena, California,
with offices in New York, San Francisco and the UK, Germany and Ireland. For more
information, visit www.overture.com.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading provider of comprehensive online products
and services to consumers and businesses worldwide. Yahoo! reaches more than 237
million individuals worldwide each month, and is the No. 1 Internet brand globally.
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo!'s global network includes 25 World properties
and is available in 13 languages.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements include without limitation statements regarding Yahoo!'s users will continue to use Overture search results, that advertisers and businesses will want to participate in Sponsored Matches by seeking enhanced placement in the search results, that businesses will be able to reach customers more effectively through enhanced placement in search results, that the companies will develop new search products. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others that the implementation may not be successful or generate revenue for Overture or yield economic benefits to Overture, that the development of new search products may not happen and if it does happen that it will be successful or generate revenue for Overture or yield economic benefits to Overture, the risk that Overture's advertisers and businesses may not want traffic from Yahoo! and the risk that Yahoo!'s users may not want to use the Sponsor Matches product. For a discussion of other risks that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, see the discussion of "Risks That Could Affect Our Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Overture's 10-K filing with the SEC for the period ended December 31, 2001. Overture undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.