Testing: Yahoo Mobile U.S. Now Showing Ads/Promos at Top of Homepage (Sometimes)
About two weeks ago we noticed what looked like an advertisement at the very top of Yahoo’s U.S. mobile portal (http://wap.oa.yahoo.com) for a free directory assistance service. A few hours later the ad was gone. Sounds like a test.
Today, we spotted three rotating ads at the top of the homepage. Here’s a screen cap of the page with an ad/promo for a free directory assistance service.
At other times a second ad for free directory assistance appears. Screen cap.
We also noticed an ad at the top of the mobile home page for a Pepsi program with football superstar Reggie Bush. Screen cap.
No word on how long these ads or promos will be visible. Yahoo’s sponsored links program for mobile has been in beta in the U.S. and U.K. since October and before October in Japan. Worth noting that the ads or promos at the top of the mobile home page have no marking about them being “sponsored links” or “ads.” Other Yahoo’s sponsored links do provide this info. Btw, we checked the Yahoo UK mobile home page and found no ads/promos.
P.S. The free directory assistance (800-Free-411) service that Yahoo links to comes from the Jingle Network. It can be found here along with an FAQ here. If you don’t mind an ad before getting the phone number, we’ve had no trouble with the service. Once you hear the telephone number, it can be sent to your phone via SMS.