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Paid Search Wars, Communications of the Association for Information Systems

Laffey, Des, Sharp, John A. (2008) Paid Search Wars, Communications of the Association for Information Systems. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 22 (32). pp. 589-602. ISSN 1529-3181. (doi:10.17705/1CAIS.02232) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:25091)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.02232

Abstract

This case analyzes the complex interactions between firms in the interrelated areas of search engines and portals after the dot com crash of 2000. Overture, a 1998 start-up, had transformed the online advertising market through the innovation of paid search, in which advertisers bid for top position for search terms. These results were provided to the portals and appeared alongside organic search results when a search was done. But Overture became a victim of its own success as the portals used their audience control to gain a greater share of advertising revenues. Google entered the paid search market in 2002 which ultimately led to Overture losing its independence and becoming a Yahoo subsidiary in 2003. As Google grew rapidly and expanded into other markets Yahoo and MSN attempted without success to counteract its influence. By February 2008 Google had been the clear winner of this rivalry, with Yahoo severely weakened. This culminated in an attempted Microsoft takeover of Yahoo with the main aim of stopping Google, a development Google was determined to prevent. This led to Google cooperating with Yahoo on paid search and Microsoft subsequently withdrawing its bid in May 2008.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.17705/1CAIS.02232
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Kent Business School - Division > Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and International Business
Depositing User: Jennifer Knapp
Date Deposited: 15 Jul 2010 09:18 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:03 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/25091 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Laffey, Des.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5502-0250
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Sharp, John A..

Creator's ORCID:
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