Yahoo signs four advertising cross-selling deals

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) said on Tuesday the company has set deals with automotive, health and news sites to cross-sell advertising to customers they share, marking the latest advances in a partnership strategy.

Seeking to show its progress in reaching new audiences off Yahoo's own network of Internet media properties, the Sunnyvale, California-based company said it had reached deals with WebMD Health Corp (WBMD.O), Cars.com, Forbes.com and Ziff- Davis-Media.

In the broadest of the deals, Yahoo said it has an exclusive, multi-year Web search and advertising distribution deal with WebMD and its network of consumer health sites. WebMD will be the only major health publisher to be able to cross- sell advertising from Yahoo customers on its own site.

Online ad spending is expected to top $1 billion in 2008, according to a recent study by market research firm eMarketer.

The company said it is working with the remaining three partners -- Cars.com, Forbes.com and Ziff-Davis -- that will allow Yahoo to sell display advertising on those sites and for the sales forces of these partners to sell ads on Yahoo.

(Reporting by Eric Auchard in San Francisco)