SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Following Google Inc.’s lead, Yahoo Inc. said it expanded its sponsored-search offering to wireless phones in the United States and United Kingdom.
The Internet giant announced the beta launch of a service that returns sponsored, clickable links with search results. Advertisers can develop their own text ad listings and choose keywords that will trigger the ad placement; Yahoo generates revenue every time a user clicks on a marketing message.
In a separate announcement, NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it will add three new search services, including Yahoo’s offering, to its wireless data service. Japan’s largest carrier hopes to offer search technology from 10 engines; its competitors have struck more exclusive deals—Softbank Corp. is teaming with Yahoo, while KDDI Corp. is partnering with Google.
Google quietly launched its own sponsored-search effort for U.S. wireless users last month.
“Yahoo has always been a leader in pay-per-click search advertising on the PC, and we are thrilled to extend that success to mobile search advertising,” said Steve Boom, Yahoo’s senior vice president of mobile and broadband. “Our test deployments have been very successful, with strong advertiser demand and consumer engagement, which makes us very excited to bring our sponsored search listings to an even wider audience.”
