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Verizon Buys Yahoo, Becomes Major Player in Search Game

By Tinuiti Team

Verizon, a telecommunications powerhouse, is working to put their revenue troubles behind them by entering the playing field of search and advertising, among other things. They have experienced their first decline in quarterly revenue in the last six years based on slow subscriber growth. More specifically, its revenue fell 5.3 percent from a year ago, which is its first major drop since 2010. This experience has led them to purchase AOL in 2015 for 4.4 billion dollars.

Verizon is preparing to utilize its search and advertising capabilities like that of Google and Facebook. But there’s no doubt that these are tough competitors to match, let alone beat. As a result, they could receive approximately five percent of digital ad revenue globally. Expanding their reach beyond the online atmosphere is also a big interest of theirs.

They’re hoping to bring this desire to life with their purchase of Telogis, a Fleetmatics competitor, in June. Blending automotive technologies and mobile capabilities is their goal, sort of like OnStar Technology. Verizon has recently made a new addition to their family, which has added more excitement to their brand.

Verizon Owns Yahoo Now

Yahoo is that special, new addition to the family of Verizon. This cost Verizon approximately 4.8 billion dollars, just a little more than the cost of AOL. Most of Yahoo’s assets are included in the deal. With AOL and Yahoo under its belt, Verizon plans to merge and integrate their assets and infrastructures.

This is all being done under the direction of Marni Walden. Walden is the EVP of the product innovation and new business organization at Verizon. This purchase has led marketers and advertisers to wonder about the direction Yahoo will take now into the future. Will the combination of AOL and Yahoo be enough to take down search marketing giants, such as Google and Facebook?

How Will Verizon Change the World of Search and Advertising?

Yes, Google and Facebook are spending advertising dollars faster than ever, much faster than Verizon. But this isn’t stopping Verizon from outlining and implementing a highly competitive search marketing strategy to take over the world of SEO.

They are interested in reshaping their brand narrative, and it’s all based on rethinking their primary customer persona. Gone are the days of ultimately prioritizing mothers and fathers looking to buy a family cell phone plan for a good deal. Of course, this doesn’t mean Verizon won’t care about these kinds of customers, but they have their eyes set on a different population.

They’re more interested in reaching out to advertisers of corporations, who want to reach out to these mothers and fathers, etc. It’s the advertisers that are willing to pay Verizon to do this that has inspired a new outlook. Shaking up the world of search and advertising means fusing phone and data networks with new media properties.

Verizon will be partnering with other big companies to execute advertising deals.

The Impact on Your Marketing Efforts

Verizon’s new ownership of Yahoo could have a really good impact on your marketing efforts. Think about it – Yahoo has over one billion active monthly users. It’s the third-largest US internet property, following Google and Facebook. Combining this consumer reach with that of AOL, in addition to blending together their technological capacities can give you more room to explore your targeting measures.

Adding all of these features to the telecom properties of Verizon could lead to innovative platforms for flaunting your marketing talents. But you should exercise your optimism with caution. There is speculation about privacy issues that could occur with this acquisition, tied with the data of cell phone users.

Are you intrigued by Yahoo’s new acquisition? Whether you are or not, we are still committed to generating leads and sales at a cost-effective rate on your behalf. Become more acquainted with us by reading the case study Helping TravelStore Become an Online Entity.

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