New Targeting Capabilities Leverage Search Activities to Deliver More Relevant Display Ads; Ad Scheduling and Demographic Options Enable Greater Personalization for Search Ads

ORLANDO, Fla. – Yahoo! Inc. announced the launch of three new targeting products for brand and performance marketers that are designed to help them reach the audiences that matter most when advertising online. The announcement was made during the Company’s keynote presentation at the annual conference of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

“As the economy continues to put pressure on advertising budgets, marketers are looking for increased accountability for every dollar they spend. Yahoo!’s new targeting products significantly improve the ability for search and display advertisers to reach their target audience, providing increased efficiency and accountability,” said Michael Walrath, senior vice president, Advertising Marketplaces Group, Yahoo!. “Yahoo! remains incredibly well positioned to meet the growing advertiser demand for performance marketing offerings, and no other company can provide marketers with such scale and expertise across search and display advertising.”
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Instant Search Results Appeal to Advertisers and Users Alike

PLEASANTON, Calif.  – LeapFish.com, the only online search portal to deliver the best of the web in a click-free search, announced that traffic on its fast-growing search aggregator has tripled since the site’s November 2008 launch. The company reports that the LeapFish.com engine has received a tremendously positive response from users and they are forecasting a substantial traffic trajectory into the future.

“We are pleased with the early progress of LeapFish and its adoption by many early users,” said Behnam Behrouzi, president and CEO of LeapFish. “LeapFish’s strong and consistent early traffic growth is a clear indicator of the engine’s potential.”

Behrouzi says growth has not only come in the form of new users, but also in the number of advertisers. The company has seen a marked influx of sponsors who have quickly purchased thousands of keywords to secure high ranking results positioning. Some are already seeing a return on their investment.
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Next Generation of Yahoo! Mail Provides a More Social and Productive Communication Experience for Consumers, Builds on the Yahoo! Open Strategy

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Continuing the momentum of the Yahoo! Open Strategy (Y!OS), Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO) introduced enhancements to Yahoo! Mail, providing consumers with a “smarter inbox” experience that will begin rolling out to users on a limited basis over the coming months. This next generation of Yahoo! Mail is part of the company’s ongoing effort to deliver more personally relevant starting points on the Web by integrating social functionality and opening products up to content and services from outside of the Yahoo! network.

The Yahoo! Mail smarter inbox experience is the company’s largest-scale implementation of its Y!OS initiative, bringing to life Yahoo!’s open and social efforts in its consumer products. Yahoo! Mail is a place where millions of people start their day, prioritize their daily activities, and continually check in to stay connected with and informed about what matters most to them. The goal of the next generation of Yahoo! Mail is to address the changing communications needs of consumers by streamlining access to the most relevant and useful information, and helping users to become more productive, all from within their inbox.
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Through Billions of Searches in 2008, People Sought to Make Sense of the World Around Them, Witnessing a Year of Passionate Politics, Olympic Records, New Celebrities on the Rise and Market Meltdowns

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ:YHOO) announced the most popular searches, themes, and trends as part of its 2008 Year in Review (yearinreview.yahoo.com), as told through the billions of searches conducted by millions of Yahoo! users around the globe every month.

“Every day, people turn to the web to learn more about the world around them. Their searches reveal which news events, personalities and issues made an impact in 2008,” said Heather Cabot, Yahoo! Web Life Editor. “This year people were captivated by the historic U.S. Presidential election and Olympic triumphs. They also closely followed every facet of the economic downturn and enjoyed a little escapism by devouring celebrity gossip and delving into online video games.”

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Co-Founder Jerry Yang to Step Down Following Appointment of New CEO and Return to Former Role as Chief Yahoo! and Board Member

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO) today announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a search for a new Chief Executive Officer. Jerry Yang, co-Founder of Yahoo!, has decided to return to his former role as Chief Yahoo! upon the appointment of his successor as CEO, and he will also continue to serve on the Board. Yang, 40, assumed the CEO role at the Board’s request in June 2007, and he has led Yahoo! through a strategic repositioning and transformation of its platform.

Chairman Roy Bostock, working with the independent directors and in consultation with Jerry Yang, is leading the process of assessing potential candidates and determining finalists for consideration. The search will encompass both internal and external candidates, and the Board has retained Heidrick & Struggles, a leading international executive search firm, to assist in the process.
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SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), a leading global Internet company, today announced that Google has terminated the advertising services agreement the companies announced in June. Yahoo! continues to believe in the benefits of the agreement and is disappointed that Google has elected to withdraw from the agreement rather than defend it in court. Google notified Yahoo! of its refusal to move forward with implementation of the agreement following indication from the Department of Justice that it would seek to block it, despite Yahoo!’s proposed revisions to address the DOJ’s concerns.

While the implementation of the services agreement with Google would have enabled Yahoo! to accelerate its investments in its top business priorities through an infusion of additional operating cash flow, this deal was incremental to Yahoo!’s product roadmap and does not change Yahoo!’s commitment to innovation and growth in search. The fundamental building blocks of a stronger Yahoo! in both sponsored and algorithmic search were put in place independent of the agreement.
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Global Network Initiative Marks Collective Step By Companies, Human Rights Groups and Others To Challenge Censorship and Threats to Privacy

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Joining fellow founding members, Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO) announced the launch of the Global Network Initiative: Protecting and Advancing Freedom of Expression and Privacy in the Information and Communication Technology Industry (GNI).

This landmark initiative will help guide information and communications technology companies in protecting and advancing freedom of expression and privacy across the globe when they encounter laws and policies that interfere with these fundamental human rights.
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Advertisers Invited to Join Conversation on Industry Changes

NEW YORK – Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO) announced the formation of a Digital Advisory Council that will consist of industry executives from its agency and advertiser partners. The Council will work collaboratively to explore the continued evolution of digital media and online advertising.

Yahoo! has created many partnerships over the past eighteen months that are reflective of the paradigm shift toward openness occurring across the online media landscape. Multi-year partnerships with premium publishers, the Newspaper Consortium, as well as the Yahoo!-Google services agreement all are part of Yahoo!’s more open approach.
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