ANTenna Blog -- Internet/Web

Yahoo wants to simplify the process of buying online display ads with a platform it says "streamlines advertisers' ad-buying process for multiple accounts across multiple publishers."

APT from Yahoo is "an automated platform that gives advertisers a range of tools to control where ads should appear, what kind of Web surfers the ads should be shown to, and how much they are willing to pay," according to PC World. APT serves up ads based on where a person is browsing the Internet from and based on their online behavior. The article adds: "Those targeting capabilities are increasingly being demanded by advertisers, who don't want to spend money showing ads to people who are likely not interested in their product."

What growing company does? Times are tight, but even when they're not, it's paramount to make every impression count. And of the 81 percent of small and midsize businesses that plan to spend on advertising in the year to come, 34 percent say they'll be shelling out more dollars, while 47 percent will maintain their ad spend.

Yahoo is initially offering APT to the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News, then will open it to other sites, including its own, and to advertisers in 2009.

Should the platform prove successful, it could mean good news for traditional newspapers that are trying to make more money from online advertising. "National advertisers do not want to make hundreds of tiny purchases, and the APT platform would make member newspapers’ Web site space available to national advertisers through one national purchase," says The New York Times.