Yahoo Ads Showing up in Natural Search Results?

I just started noticing this today and couldn't find any information on it, hopefully someone has more information. It looks to me like Yahoo has started blending some ads in with their search results - Anyone else seeing this and is this new or has it been this way.

Examples:

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt...NyoA?p=plumber&y=Search&fr=yfp-t-501&ei=UTF-8

2nd result down in Natural Search - Find a Plumber - Redirects through RankNow.com


http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt...ve+ground+pool&y=Search&fr=yfp-t-501&ei=UTF-8

1st result and 4th results

1st Result has the words -Yahoo Campaign in the Redirect URL
4th Result Redirects through feedpoint.net

 

I see it too. If it is paid ads then they have really crossed the line.

I hadn't looked at Yahoo in a while but my first first impression was that the top 3 sponsored ads blend in way too much with the search results. I didn't see the light blue shading right away as it is very subtle. I think there would be a high percentage of inexperienced users that would mistake these ads for regular search results.

 

A big concern of mine is that these are in the natural search results and redirect through Ad Buyers.

feedpoint.net is http://www.quigo.com/feedpoint.htm

 

I don't get it. Are they partners with Yahoo?

 

Yahoo ads have always come up in my search results as back links when using yahoos site tools. However i have never seen them like that in a normal search. What i am thinking is the their ad has been displaying for so long as "backlinks" on so many plumber related websites that use yahoo publisher ads that yahoo is ranking the link high without the spiders figuring out its an ad not an actual back link.

 

It wouldn't say much for Yahoo's search algorithm if it couldn't exclude it's own ads.

 

I wouldn't put it past them either...

Yahoo went wrong when it became a news site that owns a search engine.. they need to get back to being a search engine with news.

 

Yes, they changed some algorithm for it. Now it looks good.

 

You must be looking at something different because I'm still seeing the ads mixed in with the Natural results

 

Me too. Same as before.

 

This is SEO companies offering Yahoo's Paid Inclusion, I believe. http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/srchsb/choose.php

 

That's an interesting service they provide. Is this Yahoo itself or is it a separate SEO company?

 

Thanks Rusty and I like the write up on SERoundtable answered some questions.

 

Yes, the article answered some questions but I'm not sure I like the answers. I'm less of a fan of Yahoo's search. There should be a "Chinese wall" between the search results and paid results.

 

Yahoo Paid Inclusion just guarantees your URLs will be in the index, it does not change how well you rank or not. According to Yahoo.

 

Sheesh. even results have to be paid nowadays.