In what can be seen as a minor coupe in its battle with advertising titan Google, Yahoo announced today that at least seven major newspaper groups representing more than 150 daily papers will use Yahoo technology to sell advertising and offer Web-based search functionality.
Publishing groups involved include Hearst Newspapers, Cos Newspapers, Belo Corp,., Lee Enterprises, Journal Register Co., MediaNews Group, and E.W. Scripps Co; the newspapers involved cover 38 U.S. states and including nationally-known papers like the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the New Haven Register. Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.
“This announcement is consistent with our strategy to establish relationships that advance Yahoo’s objective of securing leading positions where we see the biggest prospects for growth,” said Terry Semel, Yahho chairman and CEO . “We believe the local segment is largely untapped and provides significant opportunities to expand audience engagement and subsequently grow local advertising. With our powerful reach, content, technology, local tools and advertising capabilities, Yahoo is uniquely positioned to seize these opportunities, especially as we continue to enhance our search monetization efforts and to extend our leadership position in graphical advertising.”
A main element of the deal is that advertisers who post job listings in any of the partner newspapers will also be able to post the openings on Yahoo’s HotJobs, expanding the potential audience who will see the posting (or come across it via manual or automated search) and potentially encroaching into the turf organically carved out by the popular CraigsList.
“This partnership will give recruiters exactly what they need to find the best candidates, combining Yahoo’s extensive job seeker reach and world-class targeting technologies with the newspapers’ local strength and readership, making us a leader in most of these territories,” said Dan Finnigan, senior VP for Yahoo HotJobs.
The papers will also use Yahoo’s technology to sell online advertising on the newspaper’s Web sites, use Yahoosearch “monetization functionality” to offer Web search features and Yahoo Toolbar downloads on the papers’ sites. Papers will also be able to offer Yahoo Maps and Event Listings on the sites, and offer local products from Yahoo Local listings. Papers will also be able to have their content distributed via Yahoo’s network of online offerings, including search results, Yahoo News, and other services.
