Weather.com Yahoo! Search Box

By Loren Baker, Editor | January 25, 2007

Weather.com is the site maintained by cable television’s Weather Channel and usually my first stop when it comes to checking the weather.

I noticed that it’s snowing right now in Maryland so I clicked over to Weather.com to check out the forecast.

After scrolling down the page I noticed a little box with links in it, that says “Powered by YAHOO! Search.” At first I though maybe this is some kind of new Yahoo Search tie in, but it’s not, it’s an advertising box which is part of Yahoo Search Marketing.

Weather.com Yahoo

The set up is quite similar to Google AdSense Link Units. Instead of showing the direct sponsored ad the box serves links to profitable subjects which are relevant to the content of the web page. In this instance, weather, travel and the outdoors.

Click on one of the links and then the box changes to show the Yahoo Search Marketing advertisements. In this instance Discount Hotels:

Weather.com Yahoo Hotels

And now a click on Indoor Air Quality:

Yahoo Weather.com Air Purifiers

The Yahoo Box on Weather.com is a nice alternative to some of the Google AdSense and Yahoo Publisher Network offerings. But if you’d like something like this on your site via Yahoo, you better be a large property.

Weather.com is a Yahoo Search Marketing Strategic Partner and they have YSM feeds at their disposal to work with Yahoo and set up such custom ad displays.

I’m not sure as to whether or not the ads are being generated by Yahoo Sponsored Search or Contextual Network, but my guess is sponsored search since the end user has to actually click on a keyword before the ads are given, again, similar to Google AdSense Link Units.

Regardless, Yahoo & Weather.com; nice subtle use of Yahoo Search Marketing ads.