Paid Placement Search Engine Overture is the oldest major paid placement search engine. It distributes its listings to a wide-range of search engines, including that of its owner, Yahoo. Overture launched as GoTo in 1997 and incorporated the former University of Colorado-based World Wide Web Worm. In February 1998, it shifted to its pay-for-placement model. The company changed its name from GoTo to Overture in October 2001. It was purchased by Yahoo in October 2003.
Overture allows sites to "bid" on the terms they wish to appear for. You agree to pay a certain amount each time someone clicks on your listing. This is why it is sometimes called a "pay-per-click" (PPC) or a "cost-per-click" (CPC) search engine.
While some people go directly to the Overture web site to search, most people encounter Overture's paid listings via other search engines. For example, the very top listings for "running shoes" at Overture would also appear in the sponsored areas of other sites. Search Engine Placement Company |
