GOTO.COM'S STATEMENT ON REPORTS OF ALTA VISTA'S ADOPTION OF GOTO
Business/Internet Editors
PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 1999--It has been reported that DoubleClick advertisers are bidding for placement in the top spots in Alta Vista's search results. GoTo pioneered an online marketplace where any participating advertiser can bid in an ongoing auction for introductions to self-qualified, prospective consumers. "We're thrilled to have our free market search engine concept validated by companies such as Alta Vista and DoubleClick. In its announcement, Alta Vista touts the relevance of pay-for-performance advertising. We completely agree and that's the reason we've been doing this since February 1998," noted GoTo.com's president and CEO, Jeffrey Brewer. "It's interesting and significant that Alta Vista, one of the Internet's first search engines, and DoubleClick, which operates one of the biggest syndicated banner networks have both recognized the financial opportunity in search engine content: advertising listings that are relevant and timely." "Their approach to our model, however, begs several questions," Mr. Brewer added. "First, what will happen to the small and medium sized advertisers with whom DoubleClick traditionally has not had relationships? Second, given that the minimum bid is 25c per keyword per clickthrough, won't that exclude a significant part of the market? Third, what happens when the threshold that advertisers are willing to pay is less than 25c? "I also hope for the benefit of Alta Vista's users that they come around to a model of full and open disclosure like the one embraced by GoTo that provides the opportunity to more than one or two advertisers to reach consumers. In fact, limiting the opportunity to one or two advertisers is just the same old banner advertising model where you have a limited number of advertising opportunities on a page. We think this model yields the most relevant results for consumers and allows consumers to see the actual prices that advertisers pay for their listings."
For additional information about GoTo.com, please contact: Al Duncan Director of Public Relations and Promotions GoTo.com 626-685-5714
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