Overture Services, formerly known as GoTo.com, was a pioneer in web advertising for keywords. It was one of the first search engines to display relevant ads depending on the keywords being searched. The advertiser was charged the amount it paid for placement only if someone clicked on the ad. The company later purchased AltaVista and AlltheWeb in 2003, then joined Yahoo! as a fully-owned subsidiary later that same year, changing its name to Yahoo! Search Marketing in 2005.
What is Overture Services?
Overture Services, founded in 1997 as GoTo.com, was one of the pioneers of web advertising for keywords. This Pasadena, California-based company was one of the first search engines to display relevant adverts on the results page depending on the keywords being searched. It charged advertisers the amount it paid for placement if the user clicked on an ad. This payment model made it stand out from other traditional advertising methods.
What was Overture Services’ advertising model?
Overture’s advertising model was based on keyword advertising. Advertisers would target specific keywords, and when a user searched for those keywords, their ad would appear on the search engine results page. The advertiser would only be charged if the user clicked on their ad. The amount the advertiser paid for placement was also displayed, giving rivals the opportunity to bid more and climb the results page. This payment model encourages advertisers to create more targeted, accurate, and relevant ads for their audience.
What happened to Overture Services?
In early 2003, Overture purchased search engines AltaVista and AlltheWeb, which were some of the first search engines on the web. Overture joined Yahoo! as a fully owned subsidiary in late 2003. In 2005, Overture changed its name to Yahoo! Search Marketing. Yahoo! Search Marketing continued to use the keyword advertising model, but eventually, it was replaced by Yahoo! Bing Network in 2010. Today, Yahoo! Search Marketing is no longer operational.
In In conclusion, Overture Services has played a crucial role in the development of web advertising. As one of the pioneers of keyword advertising, it revolutionized the way advertisers connect with their audience. Although Overture Services’ name is no longer in use, its innovation in keyword advertising has inspired digital marketers to develop new and better ways to reach their target audience on the web.
