Online marketing: Waiting For The Hot Deal

The day of 19'th May, 2008, would be a memorable day for the online marketing, search engine advertising and social networking. There are two reasons for this.

First reason is that, on this date AOL is completing its takeover of social networking site Bebo, which means that Yahoo is going to loose a key deal to supply advertising to the social networking site.

And second reason is that Yahoo has confirmed its willingness to discuss a new and more limited deal with Microsoft over combining the two companies. The combination is likely to affect online marketing and advertising businesses.

Both of these happenings may bring great changes in the worldwide environment of online marketing, Internet advertising and social advertising.

Earlier Microsoft had proposed an online advertising deal with Yahoo, two weeks after the failure of talks about a takeover of the Silicon Valley firm for 47.5 Billion USD or £24.4 Billion.

The buzz is that Yahoo has said that it will evaluate each of their alternatives, including any Microsoft proposal, consistent with its fiduciary duties. The firm would focus on maximising stockholder value. At the same time Yahoo and its board of directors would consider a number of value maximising strategic alternatives.

Meanwhile, buzz is also that talks between Yahoo and Google are intensifying. Two are trying to push an online marketing and online advertising deal through ahead of any renewed approach from Microsoft.

Yahoo and Google might explore an open platform on which the two firms could jointly bid to serve ads alongside search results. The project could be announced within two weeks.