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The Tech Archived · VIDEO ESSAY

The Forgotten Company That Invented Google's $200 Billion Business

Before Google dominated online advertising, a forgotten company called GoTo.com — later renamed Overture — pioneered the pay-per-click search advertising model that transformed the internet. Despite generating hundreds of millions in revenue, holding a crucial patent and securing partnerships with Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft, Overture eventually disappeared. This documentary explores how Google improved its revolutionary idea, why Yahoo's $1.63 billion acquisition couldn't save it, and how the company that helped invent modern search advertising lost everything it had built.

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Before Google dominated online advertising, a forgotten company called GoTo.com — later renamed Overture — pioneered the pay-per-click search advertising model that transformed the internet. Despite generating hundreds of millions in revenue, holding a crucial patent and securing partnerships with Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft, Overture eventually disappeared. This documentary explores how Google improved its revolutionary idea, why Yahoo's $1.63 billion acquisition couldn't save it, and how the company that helped invent modern search advertising lost everything it had built.

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