GoTo to become Overture

[Advisor]

Seems kinda dumb to me for them to be changing their name just as they have become known as the King of PPC...but whatever!

Now they are Overture. They do have a really, really cool logo though...

http://www.overture.com/

Maybe this will get rid of them all together <eg>

Jill

[ihelpyou]

Yep. I beat ya to it a few days ago. :)

I think it is a Huge mistake especially after the years of branding and money involved with the GoTo name. Their reasons for changing do not make much sense. Hopefully they will go away now. :)

[JuniorHarris]

You can change the wrapper but the product remains the same...

[mooper]

I think the name change is a good move. Yes, it will kill some of the goodwill associated with their old one, but the new name is more appealing and descriptive of what they do. It also sounds more professional and hip.

I am curious...why do you guys hate Goto? I have advertised with them for over 2 years and have had remarkable results. Just because the links are sponsored doesnt mean they are bad or irrelevant. Quite the contrary...economically it does not make sense to bid on irrelevant terms once a large advertiser base is in place. The most efficient companies will be able to afford the highest bids.

[ihelpyou]

I think you said it there. Big business can get the top ranks. That is what you actually meant. I do not see the good will in that. Again, the net has the potential to become a giant billboard. Is this what the web wants?

Also, we would not dislike GoTo like we do if all of their partners would tell the truth with what those listings are. GoTo will also advice the partners as to how to display the listings. You can be sure they are on the side of listing them deceivingly. This is what we/I simply do not like.

[Advisor]

My only problem with GoTo, and it's not really them, but their partners, is that their paid for ads aren't labeled as such. That's all. If they just said what they were without dancing around it, then I'm all for them. However, when they've tried labeling them as such, they get less clicks, so they stopped.

Jill

[mooper]

Doug,

By "goodwill" I meant in the business sense, not in the ethical sense. Are you familiar with what "goodwill" means as a business term? Essentially it is the intrinsic value built up in a company's name or repuatation. For example, if McDonalds were to allow a smaller less-known restaurant chain to use its name and its name only, that alone would add tremendous value to the company because McDonald's goodwill is enormous.

[ihelpyou]

oh yes. I agree. I was not referring to the name change.

[manwah]

Overture has officially arrived. Goto now redirects to overture.com

Gone with the yellow and green, now it's all corporate white and blue...

M

[ihelpyou]

Yep, and with the name change comes a lot of other changes as well. Watch as "GoTo" now goes down hill.

[MazY]

Nice new look - same old poisonous service.

But at least the site no longer looks like it was knocked up by a drunken teen.

[JuniorHarris]

Funny, I forgot about the name change and was in the middle of tracking down what I thought to be yet another "new" Goto Partner!~ :o:

[ihelpyou]

I guess they have been getting lots of emails and questions regarding the name change as I just received this:
We selected our name because an overture is an introduction and represents the one billion targeted introductions we made in the past year* between advertisers and our affiliate partners' consumers. Beyond our name, nothing else has changed. We still deliver bottom-line results to businesses advertising on the Web.
Our address, tax identification number, payment information and payment process remain the same. Please make note of our new name in your files and databases.

AR Department
Overture
74 N. Pasadena Ave., Floor 3
Pasadena, CA 91103
Seems like a weak reason for making such a drastic change. They are playing it off as a small change, BUT, it is a major change.