How do two search engine powerhouses co-exist on one top 10 list of b2b advertising venues? Google's approach is to provide users with fast, simple answers on pages with a minimalist look and feel. Yahoo, on the other hand, leverages its strength as a one-stop, personalized content portal for loyal users.In March, Yahoo maintained its No. 2 ranking among search engines, with 27.5% of U.S. searches, according to comScore. But its reach extends far beyond that, thanks to its vast content and services. In February, Yahoo News was the No. 1 online news destination, with 36.2 million users, and Yahoo Mail was the top Web mail provider in the world, with 243 million users.

The site's finance area also has a large, highly engaged audience. According to comScore's February numbers, Yahoo Finance had nearly 12 million users, who spent an average of 30 minutes per month on the site. That was more than competitors MSN Money (16 minutes) and AOL Money (14 minutes).

Businesspeople are people first, said Bill Hebel, senior VP-media director at b2b agency Slack Barshinger, so targeting them on what might appear to be a more consumer-oriented site has been an efficient strategy for many b2b marketers. "That's how Yahoo attracts them," he said. "It attracts them as human beings, and it's become a very effective b2b search [engine] because people are comfortable with it and using it."

Yahoo offers marketers both search marketing and display advertising opportunities. In addition to targeting by location, advertisers can place graphical ads based on audience members' behavior, such as their search queries, the sites across the Yahoo network they have visited, and what ads they have clicked, said Greg Coleman, Yahoo's exec VP-global sales.

"At Yahoo, we really do the one-two punch," he said. "Right now, we're the only Internet advertising company with any scale on both sides of search and display that can aggregate information around a customer."

The demographic information that registered users provide is particularly helpful to advertisers, allowing them to target the audience they want without wasting impressions, said Jason Klein, co-CEO of Special Ops Media. "It's a valuable outlet because it's both a robust content source and has the search functionality," he said. "You can drill down to exactly who you're [seeking] because of the registration data."