Blown to bits ch. 4 reflection

Discuss the positive and negative results of Overture's three search engine innovations. How did those innovations turn out today?

Overture, a company that owns the domain GoTo.com, made three major innovations to their advertising policies that changed the way that online advertising was bought and sold. Their first innovation was to charge advertisers for the ability to be searchable and charged the companies more to be higher up in the search results. The second innovation was to charge advertisers fees only when a viewer clicked on their add, this was call PPC or pay by click. Lastly, Overture fluctuated the cost per click depending on how many advertisers were competing for the same keyword(s).

Those innovations began a new way of advertising. Out were the days of huge banners and garish adds, now advertisers pay to be a side bar on Google's search results or as a side video on Youtube. The innovations allow the advertising industry pay more fairly for their spots on a page, but they also allow the viewers to stare at adds for hours on end without becoming annoyed or visually overwhelmed. These innovations are seeing in many websites that offer advertising space which shows that these innovations truly are successful.