Yahoo! - Microsoft deal 'could lower ad cost'

11th February 2008

The prospective Yahoo! and Microsoft merger would significantly impact upon search and display advertising, it has been reported.

According to DMNews, if the deal goes ahead, the price of keywords may go down and be a positive step for small and medium-sized enterprises.

"This would be great for our clients," said Tim Schaden, chief executive at search marketing firm Fluency. "It would make keyword buying easier and more cost-effective."

His sentiments were echoed by David Graves, analyst at Forrester Research, who explained that Microsoft is known for competitively pricing its products and could offer cheaper pay-per-click advertising than Google.

"Marketers don't care where they get their leads from as long as they are generating leads," he said.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the $44.6 billion (£22.4 billion) takeover could be met with opposition as Yahoo! has announced it feels the bid undervalues the firm.