Taking aim at Google's AdWords platform, Yahoo! announced the launch of Yahoo! SmartAds, a new ad platform that allows marketers to deliver tailored display ads to targeted audiences. SmartAds combines Yahoo!'s consumer insights and rich media capabilities with new ad serving technology that converts marketers' creative campaign elements and targeted offerings into highly-customized and relevant display ads.
SmartAds is powered by Yahoo!'s behavioral, demographic and geographic targeting capabilities and aim to connect users with what they are looking for based on their distinctive interests. For example, if a user is browsing for hybrid cars in Yahoo! Autos and has selected San Francisco as their default location in Yahoo! Weather, Yahoo!'s SmartAds platform can assemble and deliver a display ad in real time that showcases a hybrid vehicle from a major auto brand, as well as local dealer information and current lease rates.
In addition, the platform allows advertisers and agencies to design a single set of individual creative components, provide Yahoo! with that artwork and a feed to their database of offers, then allow SmartAds technology to generate the hundreds or thousands of unique ad combos based on those components.
Yahoo! says it's taking a phased approach to the SmartAds platform, making it available first on its O&O properties to travel industry advertisers in the U.S. In testing conducted on Yahoo! FareChase, SmartAds generally resulted in click through rates of two to three times higher than static, non-customized display ads using the same targeting and placement.
