By bidding on certain available related keywords, Andrews said that adult companies can advertise their product to specific targeted markets, according to geography and demographics — Yahoo ads so far are available in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Spain and the Nordic countries.
Andrews added that there currently are 130,000 keywords available for bidding and that more than 50 percent of search terms do not yet have any advertisers.
Companies control their position on each search page by bidding with a minimum of 10 cents on every keyword they want to be associated with. More bids will get their sponsored search result closer to the top of the list, he said.
Andrews also said that Yahoo must first approve an adult site to use its ad program — by establishing that it does not contain forbidden content such as child pornography, bestiality and necrophilia, and its primary focus is on content other than humiliation, bukkake and golden showers. The site also must include a 2257 statement.
The adult site can be as hardcore as the webmaster wants, Andrews said, adding that Yahoo does not judge any website's "acceptability" in terms of content. The site simply must follow Yahoo's guidelines for approval.
Terms such as "teen porn" and "teen sex" are approved as well, he said, but adult site marketers must understand that using the term "young" or insinuating the site's content features anyone under the age of consent will not be approved.
Andrews stressed to the adult industry members in the audience that Yahoo wants adult advertisers — they want their business and their money, and are more than willing to work with companies directly to help them optimize their search engine traffic.