GoTo.com Launches Marketing Campaign

GoTo.com, the search engine that allows Web sites to purchase placement within search results using a real-time competitive bidding process, launched a multi-million dollar marketing campaign.

The campaign includes a CBS Radio buy featuring spots voiced by shock jock Howard Stern and an online trivia sweepstakes produced and co-sponsored by CyberGold. Spending specifics were not disclosed.

The company also said that GoTo.com was the 64th most visited site on the Web in the month of June, its launch month, with 1.85 million unique visitors, according to figures from RelevantKnowledge Inc.

“The exceptional response to our launch underscores the fact that consumers are reaching out for more relevant search results without the clutter and distraction that comes with other search solutions. We are ‘Search made simple’,” said Stephanie Sarka, GoTo.com’s senior vice president of marketing.

The company said it now has more than 1,000 advertisers.

GoTo.com’s radio campaign on The Howard Stern Show began in July with 60-second spots in six markets, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and Austin. GoTo.com is also running 60-second spots in Kim Komando’s syndicated computer talk show in 58 markets. The Howard Stern and Kim Komando campaigns will run for six weeks.

“GoTo.com Mad Trivia Sweepstakes,” co-sponsored by GoTo.com and CyberGold, begins July 27, featuring trivia from The Howard Stern Show, at www.goto.madtrivia.com. Grand prize is a three-day trip for two to New York which includes attending a taping of the radio show.

GoTo.com said it is currently generating impressions at the run rate of 30 million per month.