Yahoo and Google Partnership – Serving AdWords in Yahoo Results & Other Daily Finds for April 9, 2008

Here are some great and newsworthy posts I came across today including Yahoo and Google form a partnership where Yahoo will serve up Google ads in selective areas, Yahoo acquires the web analytics service of IndexTools for an undisclosed sum, and finally California is looking to pass law that would allow them to tax Internet downloads, specifically movies and music.

Yahoo and Google Partner Again : Serving AdWords in Yahoo Results (Search Engine Journal)
Loren Baker writes, “Is the end of Yahoo Search Marketing near? Yahoo has announced that they are running limited tests of AdWords sponsored search ads (or Google AdSense for Search, which are AdWords served in the search results of non-Google search properties) beside Yahoo Search results.” He goes on to say that the test will apply only to traffic from the Yahoo.com site in the U.S. and will not include Yahoo!’s network of affiliate or premium publisher partners, like the Newspaper consortium or other Yahoo partners. The test is expected to last up to two weeks and will be limited to no more than 3% of Yahoo! search queries.

Yahoo To Acquire IndexTools Web Analytics Service (Search Engine Land)

Danny Sullivan writes, “Google offers Google Analytics. Microsoft has its “Gatineau” or recently renamed Microsoft adCenter Analytics service in beta. So I suppose it was inevitable that Yahoo get in on the web analytics action. The company announced today that it is acquiring Tensa Kit, which produces the IndexTools analytics service.”

California Bill Seeks To Tax Internet Downloads (WebProNews)
California Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-City of Industry) wants to impose a sales tax on music and movies downloaded from the Internet in order to ease the states budget shortfall. For example, Calderon’s proposal would raise the cost of an iTunes download from 99 cents to $1.07. He believes the Board of Equalization should update a 75-year-old law that authorizes sales-tax collections on tangible personal property. Music and movies downloaded off the Internet are not considered tangible goods.