Yahoo pins hopes on mobile ads

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 4 Dec 2009 at 11:21

Yahoo is predicting "exponential" growth in mobile advertising, despite the fact that the overall market is only just emerging from its downturn.

Yahoo's mobile-advertising business has seen substantial growth over the last year, despite the overall shakiness of the market.

The company says it's now focusing on boosting the number of mobile users as a way to attract more advertisers. "We're focused on it as a priority every day," said Hilary Schneider, executive vice president of Yahoo North America, at the Global Media Summit in New York.

If you just look at the growth rates on mobile, they're incredible, they're extraordinary

"If you just look at the growth rates on mobile, they're incredible, they're extraordinary, but you have to just remember that they're starting with a small base," she said. "I really do believe that over the next five years you'll start to see material dollars begin to migrate."

However, Schneider warned that the large number of mobile devices, formats, networks and standards, could slow uptake.

Yahoo is seeking to revive its growth under the leadership of chief executive Carol Bartz, who took the reins in January and announced a controversial deal to hand operation of its search business to Microsoft.

The decision has drawn flak from detractors, who point to figures from Comscore which show Yahoo losing market share to Microsoft. Analysts claim such losses could result in a smaller piece of the revenue for Yahoo in the Microsoft partnership.