Pay-per-click coming to .mobi

Yahoo moves into mobile advertising, leading the way for .mobi PPC advertising.

Domain speculators usually look at potential pay-per-click advertising revenue as the starting point of valuing a domain name. But the recent launch of .mobi domains posed a quandary: how do I value a domain when there’s no standard for mobile advertising?

Yahoo! may have the answer. The firm disclosed that it has a fresh platform for mobile advertising. It is unclear if it will be pay-per-click or another advertising model, but the firm confirmed that PepsiCo will be one of its first mobile advertisers (see BusinessWeek article).

This could create a way for .mobi domain owners to generate revenue from their domains. Still, it will be a while ahead of people start typing in .mobi domains on their cell phones.

Google is also experimenting with mobile ads with a similar model to its search ads. Advertisers can display their text ads in the results of mobile searches (see image below). It won’t be long ahead of .mobi domain owners can display these ads on parked domains.