Yahoo! signs Bebo display ad deal

Yahoo! has signed a deal with Bebo that gives it the right to sell the majority of the social networking site’s display advertising in the UK and Ireland. Yahoo! says the agreement will provide its advertisers with “substantially improved” marketing opportunities in the traditionally hard-to-reach 13- 24-year-old age group. 

As part of the deal, Yahoo!’s knowledge service Yahoo! Answers will be integrated into Bebo’s website and a new toolbar will allow Bebo users to monitor their social network even when they are not on the website. 

The partnership is an extension of a deal signed in May which saw Yahoo! begin providing search on Bebo. Yahoo! Europe managing director Toby Coppel says: “This is the next step of our ongoing strategy to build the largest and most effective online advertising network.” 

Bebo has more than 38 million members worldwide and is the UK’s second most engaging website after Google, according to comScore World Metrix. Yahoo! and Bebo will begin to roll out the joint initiatives before the end of the year.