For the first time, at the Search Engine Strategies conference, Yahoo has publicly displayed it new search advertising platform.

"Project Panama," the online advertising platform on which Yahoo has pinned its hopes and which is scheduled for launch in the fourth quarter, was shown to search marketers in San Jose, reports ClickZ, adding that Yahoo also plans to introduce a new ad ranking system by the first quarter of 2007 - possibly by the fourth quarter.

"We'll be introducing graphics and rich media, coupons, and phone calls. This will be very important in new channels such as mobile," Product Marketing VP John Kim is quoted as saying. The new system will also deliver better targeting, according to Kim.

When selecting ad groups, advertisers can determine whether to manage contextual campaigns separately from paid search ads. They can set up A/B testing to determine the best-performing ad, get estimates of how many clicks an ad should receive for a given bid, and receive account alerts (if an advertiser has run out of money, for example).

ClickZ has more details - as does (along with several screen shots) Loren Baker's post in Search Engine Journal.

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