With millions of ads running on every portal hourly, advertisers have found a whole new avenue for reaching out to the target customers. But what if one could track one’s competitors, identify where they advertise, and use that information to place one’s ads in the portals that best fit the brand - irrespective of geography, language, and time zone. With (!)Yureekah it is not impossible anymore.

Founded in 2008 by Vishal Sharma and Devaraj Southworth, the company had the sole aim of organizing the world’s online display advertising information and make them universally accessible and useful through a single, automated portal. (!)Yureekah is gearing up to replicate the success of Google in the online display advertising space.
The company’s strength lies in its search engine, the technology of which is due for a patent. Its uniqueness lies in the ability to search and index flash based advertisements. When a user submits a search query, (!)Yureekah efficiently locates the advertisement type, the brand in the advertisement, website (the publisher) on which it is currently running, and also the exact location of the ad within the website, hence giving the user an edge over his competitors. The other strength is its resources led by Anup Badhe (CTO) who constantly ensures that the ideas are translated into reality at the speed of thought.

“We at (!)Yureekah adopt the ‘FIT’ (First mover’s advantage, Innovation, and Technology) model to overcome competition and provide the same to our users. Apart from being the only vertical search engine for online display advertising in India and the world, we also help create custom display ads through www.zimblee.com,” explains Sharma.

Currently (!)Yureekah is free for all users, enabling agencies and advertisers to reduce costs, at the same time leveling the playing field for small business owners and individual advertisers by offering the same access and ability. The idea is to build a suite of products that will change the way traditional online display advertising operates. “Our objective is to develop a collaborative online platform for all online advertising needs and intend to replicate the success of Google AdWords in the display ad space,” says Sharma.

The realization of the dream does not look distant for (!)Yureekah, as the online display advertising market is already seeing a spike in spite of the economic recession, as it is the only medium that can offer immediate ROIs at one tenth the cost of all other forms of media. The global market for online display advertising is growing at 30-45 percent annually and it currently stands at $7.4 billion. The Indian market itself is estimated at nearly Rs. 4.5 billion, a major chunk of which the company is eyeing to utilize to its maximum in the coming 3-4 years.

Looking at the next big opportunity, Sharma feels that not only e-commerce but the whole online services piece is the next big thing. “Whether it is paying bills or booking facilities or travel tickets online it is something which is picking up big in India. The increase in Internet penetration will increase the usage of online services,” explains Sharma.

Leveraging on the opportunities ahead, (!)Yureekah has its plan clearly mapped, with increasing its global presence, as the topmost priority. It is currently working on strategies to penetrate the markets in the U.S., Europe, and emerging markets like the Middle East, Singapore, and Malaysia. The idea is to adopt both organic and inorganic strategies to achieve this goal. In the next few months, it also plans to launch a technology platform that will redefine the way advertisers are generating leads online. (!)Yureekah is definitely the next ‘Google’ in the making.