Panama boosts big brands names

A new report from SearchIgnite and RBC Capital Markets indicates that Panama, Yahoo's new search platform, is working as predicted to boost revenue for brands. That is, if the brand is already a big brand name.

by Kristina Knight

According to the report, bigger brand names are seeing a larger click through rates for generic and non-brand terms than brands that are less well known. Roger Barnette, president of SearchIgnite, said "[Panama] most helped consumer brand marketers with strong brands, because on non-brand terms, people are more likely to click through on terms they know and trust."

After the full release of Panama, SearchIgnite saw a 22% increase in click through rates. They also saw an increase in CPC from 56 cents to 59 cents overall. The Panama release has also helped Yahoo turn things around. For several months, Yahoo has seen their market share drop, but with the Panama release, Yahoo is seeing a search market share of about 18%.

According to data compiled by comScore in February, several companies reported an increase in click through rates once Panama was fully released.

Will Panama continue to help Yahoo turn things around? According to Barnette, that remains to be seen. Part of the increase in search share could be attributed to marketers simply testing the new platform. If search share and click through rates continue to show increase in performance in six months, the official verdict will likely taut Panama as a search marketing revolution.