WebProNews

If the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium is supposed to represent an advance over the traditional dead-tree industry, it only makes sense that its approach to advertising would be high-tech, too.  So in a move that seems smart enough, Yahoo is beginning to test behavioral and geotargeting.

This isn't a perfect comparison, but imagine what an observant newspaper salesperson would be able to accomplish compared to some kid who just shouted "extra, extra" repeatedly.  If the ads on papers' sites are distributed with the same sort of intelligence, a similar gain in services' and products' sales might result.

Advertisers like sales, of course, and so advertisers would like the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium and participating newspapers.  More and more newspapers would get in on the action, and before long, we'd see a great, big, profitable family form.  Especially if advertisers try to spend more efficiently in a recession.

Companies might simply cut away at their advertising budgets, though, and this wouldn't help matters.  Also, the happy family scenario depends on the advertising working quite well, and Kate Kaye makes clear that the testing is still at an early stage.

As with almost everything, then, we'll just have to sit and see.  Yahoo deserves at least a little applause, however, for taking an intelligent step.