We understand that many advertisers (and non-advertisers) had come to rely on the Keyword Selector Tool, which dates back to the “Overture era.” Ironically, the sheer volume traffic that this tool received also led, in part, to our decision to decommission it, because its responsiveness was greatly diminished, making it less effective. It also used up system resources that can be better allocated to other functions that benefit our paying advertisers.

More importantly, our “Panama” system offers more robust forecasting and keyword research tools that can help advertisers gain better insight into the expected performance of potential keywords. And because these tools are only available only to our advertisers, using them will be much faster and simpler.