Yahoo! And Bing To Launch Google Adsense Competitor

In the world of “contextual advertising” ie. where ads are displayed based on a web page’s content, Google’s Adsense has dominated the market for the last decade. While there have been several attempts by other companies to compete in the space, none of the offerings to date have managed to hit the “critical mass” to make any real impact.

This situation might be changing, as Microsoft’s Bing and Yahoo! have announced a new service Yahoo! Bing Network Contextual Ads.

The new service will launch on October 15th, though publishers can signup now to get an invite.

The new advertising network is powered by Media.net and is aimed at publishers with “premium” content, so it might not be as inclusive as Google Adsense.

From their FAQ:

Q: What type of publisher websites shall be approved by Media.net to display the Contextual Ads program?
A: The program is meant for websites with premium content. Both large and small qualifying websites can participate. Media.net individually approves and screens each website submitted by a publisher to ensure adherence to high-quality standards. To qualify, websites must:

Have high-quality content and traffic
Have a reasonable volume of visitors already using the website
Receive majority traffic from United States / Canada / United Kingdom
Have English as the primary language

More information and signup on their site.

Yahoo! had previously attempted to enter the space with YPN, but it was limited to US publishers. The new solution is open to publishers worldwide, but the traffic needs to be from US, Canada and UK.

Related articles

• Yahoo Pitches New Ad Network To Battle Google’s AdSense (forbes.com)
• Google Dumping Adsense For Feeds (technology.ie)
• Yahoo Resurrects Its Publisher Network In Partnership With Bing And Media.net (marketingland.com)