Bill Gross, founder of Idealab, develops a concept for a search engine that is solely focused on search. He names the engine GoTo.com.
June 1998
Overture's website launches with a search-only focus. The Pay-Per-Click model, later renamed Pay-Per-Performance, enables businesses to participate in bidding auctions to determine their ranking in the search results.
November 2000
The first international office is opened in the UK.
September 2001
GoTo changes its name to Overture Services to reflect the company's position as the premier provider of search and advertising services to companies doing business online.
November 2001
Yahoo! launches "Sponsor Matches" with Overture as its paid search provider in the US.
February 2003
Overture acquires two companies: the web search pioneer AltaVista and also the web search unit of Norway-based Fast Search & Transfer, a leading developer of search and real-time filtering technologies.
June 2003
Overture launches Content Match, the company's new contextual advertising product that places the company's search results on relevant content-based pages of its distribution partners' websites.
July 2003
Yahoo! and Overture sign a definitive agreement for Yahoo! to acquire Overture for US$1.7 billion. The acquisition is complete in October 2003, as Overture becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Yahoo! Inc.
April 2005
Overture becomes Yahoo! Search Marketing in the US.
February 2006
Overture becomes Yahoo! Search Marketing in Europe.
