THE FOLLOWING PROMOTION IS INTENDED FOR PLAY IN THE FIFTY UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ONLY (COLLECTIVELY, THE "ELIGIBILITY AREA") AND SHALL ONLY BE CONSTRUED AND EVALUATED ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES. DO NOT ENTER THIS PROMOTION IF YOU ARE NOT LOCATED AND LEGALLY RESIDING IN THE ELIGIBILITY AREA DURING THE ENTIRE TERM OF THIS PROMOTION. SEE BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS.

NO ENTRY FEE OR PURCHASE IS REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

ENTRY IN THIS PROMOTION CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

1. About The Promotion: The Yahoo! Be A Better Marketer Promotion (the “Promotion”) is a program in which three lucky entrepreneurs will learn how to connect with the right customers and become better marketers with a $25,000 Yahoo! Search Marketing budget, mentoring from an executive level marketer and more.

2. Eligibility: You do not need to be a current Yahoo! Search Marketing advertiser to participate. This Promotion is open to privately held small businesses consisting of (a) sole proprietors who are legal residents of the 50 United States or District of Columbia and at least 21 years of age, or business entities (partnerships, corporations, etc.) that are legally domiciled and have their principle place of operations in the fifty United States or the District of Columbia (each of the above, a “Business”). In addition, to be eligible for this Promotion (such entities referred to in these rules as an “Eligible Business”), each Business must meet the following criteria:

1. the Business has fewer than 99 employees;
2. the Business has a live website with actual, meaningful content relevant to the Business during the entire term of the Promotion (the “Business Website”);
3. the Business must be able to place Yahoo! Search Optimizer tags on the Business Website, either by providing tags to the Business’s webmaster or by permitting representatives of the Sponsor to add the tags to the site on the Business’s behalf;
4. the Business Website does not display, during the term of the Promotion, any advertising for competitors of the Sponsor;
5. an authorized representative of the Business is available to travel to New York City in a window between July 6 - 13, 2007 to participate in the Prize-related activities described in these Official Rules;
6. the Business may not be an adult- or gambling-related business, as determined solely by Sponsor

The final determination as to whether any Business complies with the above requirements is at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.

Employees and agents of Yahoo! Inc., (“Sponsor”), participating media outlets, and each of their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotional agencies, any other prize sponsor/supplier, and any entity involved in the development, production, implementation, administration or fulfillment of the Promotion (all of the foregoing, together with Sponsor, collectively referred to as “Promotion Entities”), and the immediate family members and persons living in the same households as such individuals, whether related or not, are not eligible to participate or win. Void in overseas U.S. territories, possessions, commonwealths and military installations, and where prohibited by law.

3. Promotion Phases: The Promotion consists of four phases:

1. Entry Period: Beginning on May 10, 2007 at 12am PT and continuing through May 30, 2007 at 11:59pm PT (the “Entry Period”), an authorized representative of an Eligible Businesses (an “Entrant”) may enter the Promotion by visiting http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/ultimateconnection (the “Promotion Website”) and following the instructions there to submit an entry (an “Entry”). The authorized representative of the Eligible Business will be asked to provide his/her name, company name, Business Website URL, a daytime telephone number where the authorized representative may be reached, and entrant’s business email address. As part of the Entry, the Entrant will be required to submit three essays on the following topics, each in 500 words or fewer:
   1. Tell us about your business.
   2. What does your business need to be more successful?
   3. How can the Yahoo! Ultimate Connection Contest help make that success a reality?
   All Entries must be received by the close of the Entry Period.
   
   LIMIT ONE ENTRY PER PERSON, OR, IF APPLICABLE, PER BUSINESS ENTITY. Although additional attempts to enter may be received, only the first eligible Entry received from any sole proprietor and/or business entity will be considered. Sponsor reserves the right to determine who is a “business entity” for purposes of this Promotion. Submitting multiple entries in connection with this Promotion may result in disqualification from participation. All Entry Materials received become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned. For the purposes of this Promotion and these Official Rules, “receipt” of an Entry occurs when Yahoo!’s servers record the entry information upon clicking the “enter” or “submit” button at the bottom of the entry form. Any automated computer receipt (such as one confirming delivery of email or a “thanks for entering” message) does not constitute proof of actual receipt of an Entry by Sponsor. The Promotion Entities assume no responsibility for advising an entrant of an incomplete or otherwise non-compliant submission. Late, unintelligible, incomplete, or garbled entries will be disqualified. Sponsor assumes no liability for lost, damaged or misdirected entries.
2. First Round: At the conclusion of the Entry Period, and continuing through approximately June 7, 2007, the eligible Entries received during the Entry Period will be reviewed in a first round of judging by a panel of Yahoo! Search Marketing staff and a qualified, independent judging organization, under the supervision and direction of the Sponsor (the “First Round”). Entrants will initially be scored based on the following criteria, with a possible 5 points for each, for a total of 25 possible points:
   1. Adherence to essay topics
   2. Creativity
   3. Originality
   4. Marketability
   5. Overall appeal
   
   The top 5 Entries as determined by the judges in the First Round will be named as Finalists. In the event of a tie in the First Round, the tied Entrants will both go on to the next round.
   
   Second Round: Starting June 14, 2007, the 5 Finalists will be reviewed in an additional round of judging by a panel of executive level marketers, according to the judging criteria above. In addition, the public will have an opportunity through June 24, 2007 at 11:59pm PT to vote for the Finalist they believe is the most worthy of receiving a $25,000 Yahoo! Search Marketing Budget and making the Ultimate Connection. The judges may take into account the public voting in their deliberations, but are not bound by the results of that voting in selecting winners.
   
   The judges in the Second Round will select three Finalists, who will be named as the potential winners and will win the Prizes described in Section 6 below, subject to verification. In the event of a tie, and one or more of the tied Finalists is a Wisconsin resident, duplicate prizes will be given. Otherwise, the tie will be broken by re-judging the tied Finalists by a judge or panel of judges chosen by Sponsor, based on the judging criteria outlined in the “First Round,” above. PLEASE NOTE: EVEN IF YOU ARE CONTACTED AS A POTENTIAL WINNER IN THE PROMOTION, YOU HAVE NOT YET WON A PRIZE. ALL POTENTIAL WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION AND A BACKGROUND CHECK CONDUCTED ON BEHALF OF THE PROMOTION ENTITIES, AND MUST MEET ALL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS BEFORE A PRIZE WILL BE AWARDED.

4. General Conditions of Entry: By entering the Promotion, each entrant, and, if applicable, the Business on behalf of which he/she is entering the Contest:

1. agrees to be bound by these Official Rules, which will be posted at the Promotion Site throughout the Promotion, and by the standard policies, rules and regulations governing the Yahoo! service, including, without limitation, the Yahoo! Terms of Service; and acknowledges that failure to comply with any of the above will result in disqualification from the Promotion;
2. agrees to comply with and be bound by the decisions of the Sponsor and the judges relating to this Promotion, which shall in each case be final and binding in all respects;
3. WARRANTS AND REPRESENTS THAT THE ENTRANT IS THE PRIMARY BUSINESS OWNER NAMED IN THE ENTRY, OR THE AUTHORIZED AGENT THEREOF, AND OWNS ALL RIGHTS TO, OR HAS OBTAINED ALL LICENSES AND OTHER PERMISSIONS NECESSARY TO USE AND SUBMIT THE ENTRY HE/SHE IS SUBMITTING, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL CONTENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMAGES, TEXT, OR OTHER COPYRIGHTABLE MATERIAL, TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS, LOGOS OR ANY OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CONTAINED WITHIN THE BUSINESS WEBSITE (COLLECTIVELY, THE “ENTRY MATERIALS”), AND CAN PROVIDE WRITTEN CONFIRMATION OF ANY OF THE ABOVE UPON REQUEST;
4. WARRANTS AND REPRESENTS THAT: (i) THE ENTRY MATERIALS ARE THE ENTRANT’S ORIGINAL CREATION AND HAVE BEEN LEGALLY OBTAINED AND CREATED, AND DO NOT INFRINGE THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OR ANY OTHER LEGAL OR MORAL RIGHTS OF ANY THIRD PARTY; (ii) THE SUBMITTED ENTRY MATERIALS ARE NOT CURRENTLY UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR ANY OTHER AWARD, CONTEST, OR PROMOTION; (iii) THE ENTRANT WILL NOT OTHERWISE SUBMIT THE ENTRY MATERIALS TO ANY OTHER ENTITY FOR ENTRY IN A COMPETITION OR PROMOTION FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE CONTEST PERIOD; and
5. grants to Sponsor and its affiliates, legal representatives, assigns and licensees, the right and permission to copyright (as appropriate), reproduce, encode, store, copy, transmit, publish, broadcast, display, publicly perform, exhibit and/or otherwise use or reuse (without limitation as to when or to the number of times used), the entrant’s name, the name of the entrant’s Business, address, the entrant’s image, voice, likeness, statements, biographical material and Entry Materials (in each case, as submitted or as edited by Sponsor, in Sponsor’s sole discretion), as well as any additional photographic images, video images, portraits, interviews or other materials relating to the entrant or the entrant’s Business and arising out of his/her participation in this competition (with or without using the entrant’s name or Business name) (collectively, the “Additional Materials”) in any media throughout the world for advertising and publicity purposes without additional review, compensation, or approval;
6. forever waives any rights of publicity, rights of privacy, intellectual property rights, and any other legal or moral rights that might preclude Yahoo!’s use of the entrant’s Entry Materials or the Additional Materials or require the entrant’s or the entrant’s Business’s permission for Yahoo! to use them for promotional purposes, and agrees, on behalf of him/herself and his/her Business, to never sue or assert any claim against the Promotion Entities relating to the Promotion Entities’ use of those Materials;
7. agrees to indemnify and hold the Promotion Entities and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents, co-branders or other partners, and any of their employees (collectively, the “Promotion Indemnitees”), harmless from any and all claims, damages, expenses, costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) and liabilities (including settlements), brought or asserted by any third party against any of the Promotion Indemnitees due to or arising out of the entrant’s Entry Materials or Additional Materials in this Promotion, or the entrant’s or his/her Business’s conduct during and in connection with this Promotion, including but not limited to trademark, copyright, or other intellectual property rights, right of publicity, right of privacy and defamation; and
8. should the Entrant’s Business be selected as a potential Finalist/Winner: (i) agrees that the Promotion Entities may seek, at their option, a background check from one or more outside sources; (ii) that the entrant’s failure to give approval, if requested by Sponsor, will result in disqualification of the potential Finalist/Winner from the Promotion, and that (iii) Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify a potential Finalist/Winner or confirmed Finalist/Winner on the basis of investigative reports about that individual or his/her Business.

5. Prizes: The three Prize winners’ Businesses will each receive:

1. $25,000 credited to a Sponsored Search account, subject to Yahoo! Search Marketing’s normal account opening, eligibility and advertising terms.
2. Four one hour consultation sessions, via telephone, with a Yahoo! Search Marketing expert, to be completed within one year following the conclusion of the Promotion.
3. Four one hour consultation sessions with an executive level marketer selected by the Sponsor, to be completed within one year following the conclusion of the Promotion.
4. Website design services, courtesy of FastPivot, not to exceed 100 hours of service, and to be completed within one year following the conclusion of the Promotion.
5. Power lunch in New York, NY event for winner and companion which includes:
   • round trip coach class air transportation for winner and companion from a major U.S. airport close to winner’s home (carrier and airport to be selected by Sponsor) to New York, NY
   • hotel accommodations (one room, standard, double occupancy) for 4 nights/5 days
   • ground transportation to hotel from airport in New York, NY
   • power lunch in the sky event, hosted on an elevated table high above New York City with one of the three executive level marketing mentors (“Power Lunch”). Mentor will be assigned by Sponsor.
6. $5,000 USD, in the form of a check, to be paid by July 10, 2007.

Approximate retail value of each Prize package: $40,000 (Prize value may vary depending on winner’s point of departure and cost of accommodations at time of reservation). Power Lunch is subject to change/and or cancellation for any reason in Sponsor’s sole discretion. To participate in the Power Lunch, winner and any companion must be in good mental and physical health, and over the age of 18, In the event that Power Lunch is cancelled, and/or winner is ineligible or unable to participate, he/she will be awarded the cash equivalent ($500). Except as specifically provided herein, prize does not include taxes, insurance, telephone charges, personal expenses, travel arrangements between winner’s home and U.S. airport of departure, ground transportation, gratuities, passenger facility charges (PFCs), departure taxes, incidental charges, or any other item not specifically described in these Official Rules, and all expenses for any of the foregoing are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. Winners must be able to travel in a window between July 6 - 13, 2007 (exact dates will be announced by Sponsor at time of Prize fulfillment), or travel portion of prize may be forfeited, and no compensation awarded in lieu thereof. If verification procedures cannot be completed in time for a selected winner to take the trip on the dates designated above, the travel portion of the Prize may not be awarded, and no compensation will be awarded in lieu thereof. If winner is an employee of the winning company, the winning company may appoint an authorized representative/agent of the company to attend the New York trip. If winner is a sole proprietor, he/she may not transfer the trip portion of the trip to any other person. Once confirmed, travel arrangements and accommodations cannot be changed by winner; however, travel is subject to availability, blackout dates, and/or change due to circumstances beyond Sponsors’ and Administrators’ control. Winners and their respective travel companion must travel on the same dates, itinerary, and fare class. All travel awarded in this Promotion must originate from a major airport near winner’s home, as determined by Sponsor, and must be completed by July 13, 2007. No extensions will be permitted, and any unused travel will be forfeited, and no compensation awarded in lieu thereof.

Prizes cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion or offer. All tickets issued in conjunction with the Prize are not eligible for frequent flyer miles, and no code-share flights may be used. Prize may not be transferred or assigned except by Sponsor or as provided herein. Only listed Prizes will be awarded and no substitutions, equivalents or redemptions will be made, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute for the Prize or any component thereof with another prize of equal or greater value in the event that the advertised Prizes (or any component thereof) are not available. Expenses not specifically stated above, together with the reporting and payment of all applicable income taxes, arising out of, or resulting from, acceptance or use of a Prize, are the sole responsibility of the winner. Yahoo! expressly disclaims any responsibility or liability for injury or loss to any person or property relating to the delivery and/or subsequent use of the prizes awarded. Yahoo! makes no representations or warranties concerning the appearance, safety, or performance of any prize awarded. Restrictions, conditions, and limitations apply.

6. Winner Notification: Potential winners will be notified on or around June 25, 2007 via email, U.S. mail, telephone and/or overnight courier. Prize winners will be required to sign, notarize and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release (except where prohibited by law) and provide any additional information (such as social security number or Federal Tax ID number), that may be required by Promotion Entities. Except where prohibited by law, potential winners must return all such required documents within three days following first attempted written notification or Prize may be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner using the methods and ranking system described above. Travel companion must be 18 or older to accompany winner on New York prize trip.

Return of any prize/prize notification as undeliverable, or inability of Promotion Entities to contact a potential winner may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner using the methods and ranking system described above.

7. General Conditions: This Promotion is governed by the laws of the United States. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify the Entry of any individual or Business found to be (a) tampering or attempting to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Promotion or any Yahoo! website; (b) violating the Official Rules; (c) violating the terms of service, conditions of use and/or general rules or guidelines of any Yahoo! property or service, or (d) acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. Further, Sponsors reserve the right to disqualify any Entry which, in Yahoo!’s sole opinion, is deemed to be offensive, disparaging to the Sponsor or otherwise portraying Sponsor in a negative manner, libelous, slanderous, inflammatory, or otherwise inappropriate in any way for this Promotion. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE PROMOTION MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DISQUALIFY AND SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

By accepting the Prize, winner and the Business he/she owns or represents agree to release and hold harmless Promotion Entities, and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, and agents from any and all liability for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind to persons, including but not limited to death, or property, resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize, participation in this promotion, or while traveling to, preparing for or participating in any prize-related activity.

8. Limitations of Liability: The Promotion Entities assume no responsibility for any computer, online, telephone transmission or technical malfunctions that may occur during participation in the Promotion, or for theft, destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, Entry Materials. Promotion Entities are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users, Promotion participants or any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion; or for any technical or human error which may occur in the transmission, receipt or processing of submissions in the Promotion. Promotion Entities assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, failures or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, providers, computer equipment, software, email, players or browsers, whether on account of technical problems, traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or on account of any combination of the foregoing (including but not limited to any such problems which may result in the inability to access the Promotion Website or any website submitted in connection with an Entry in this Promotion). Promotion Entities are not responsible for any injury or damage to participants or to any computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in this Promotion. If, for any reason, the Promotion is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Promotion Entities which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Promotion, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Promotion and select the winner from among qualifying entries received prior to the time/date of the action or event warranting such cancellation, termination, modification or suspension, if any.

9. Disputes/Governing Law: Except where prohibited, as a condition of participating in this Promotion, Entrant agrees that any and all disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Promotion, or any prize awarded, or the determination of winners shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will Entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys’ fees, other than entrant’s actual out-pocket expenses (e.g., costs associated with entering this Promotion), and Entrant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

All issues and questions rights and obligations of Entrant in connection with this Promotion shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California, U.S.A., without giving effect to the conflict of laws rules thereof and any matters or proceedings which are not subject to arbitration as set forth in these Official Rules and/or for entering any judgment on an arbitration award, shall take place in the State of California, County of Santa Clara.

The parties waive rights to trial by jury in any action or proceeding instituted in connection with these Official Rules and/or this Promotion. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Official Rules and/or this Promotion shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be conducted in the State of California, County of Santa Clara, and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered into any court having jurisdiction thereof.

10. Privacy: By entering the Promotion, you agree to Yahoo!’s use of your personal information as described in Yahoo!’s Privacy Policy, located at http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/promotions/details.html.

11. Winner’s Name: The name of the Promotion winner may be obtained between July 10, 2007 and August 10, 2007 by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Yahoo! Ultimate Connection Promotion, PO Box 3646, Dept S, St. Cloud, MN 56397-3646.

12. Official Rules: For a copy of the Official Rules, print this web page or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Yahoo! Ultimate Connection Promotion, PO Box 3382, Dept S, St. Cloud, MN 56397-3382. VT residents omit return postage. Requests received after July 10, 2007 will not be honored.

13. Sponsor: Yahoo! Inc., 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.