Sydney, Australia -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/29/2007 -- Yahoo! Search Marketing, a leader in Internet search advertising, and First Rate, one of Australasia’s largest online marketing agencies, have announced a partnership whereby Yahoo! Search Marketing’s sponsored search listings (i.e. text ads) will be distributed across The Performance Network (TPN) – one of Australia’s and New Zealand’s largest online advertising networks, owned by First Rate.

The collaboration marks the first Trans-Tasman partnership of its kind between Yahoo! Search Marketing and an online advertising network such as TPN, which features an extensive network of advertisers and website owners (“publishers”), across Australia and New Zealand.

First Rate has traditionally generated revenue for its publishers’ by filling their website space with banner ads from leading advertisers. This first-of-its kind deal means that TPN publishers can now backfill their unsold website space with sponsored listings through the Yahoo! Search Marketing platform – in the process creating a new revenue stream beyond traditional banner ads.

Sam Stern, Head of Business Development Partner Solutions, Australia and New Zealand, Yahoo! Search Marketing, said, “The partnership with First Rate’s TPN Network expands our sponsored listings distribution network in both Australia and New Zealand, and provides us with increased and diversified traffic to benefit the range of businesses who have Yahoo! Search Marketing search advertising campaigns.”

Jon Ostler, CEO of First Rate said, “We are pleased to be entering into such an innovative partnership with Yahoo! Search Marketing whereby we can offer our network of TPN Publishers a new advertising revenue stream through sponsored listing placements.”

ABOUT YAHOO! SEARCH MARKETING
Yahoo! Search Marketing is a leading global provider of sponsored search services on the Internet. The company offers a flexible and integrated approach to advertising on Australia’s leading websites including Yahoo!7, ninemsn, News Interactive, Ansearch and Altavista. The unique and measurable service offered by Yahoo! Search Marketing enables Australian advertisers to accurately target and connect with customers searching for products and services online.

Yahoo! Search Marketing is positioned within the Yahoo! Inc brand with its headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. The Asia Pacific headquarters are in Sydney, Australia. For more information about Yahoo! Search Marketing, visit www.searchmarketing.yahoo.com.au

ABOUT FIRST RATE (WWW.FIRST-RATE.COM.AU)
First Rate is one of Australia’s and New Zealand’s leading specialists in search engine optimisation, search engine marketing, email marketing, and online advertising. The company has 30 staff across Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, and is arguably the fastest growing agency of its type in Australasia.

In 2006 First Rate established The Performance Network (TPN) – one of Australia’s and New Zealand’s largest online advertising networks, with hundreds of website publishers and advertisers across both countries. The websites are http://www.theperformancenetwork.com.au (Australia) and http://www.tpn.co.nz (New Zealand).