Yahoo Panama complaints aren't surprising

Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO) investors are eagerly awaiting the Project Panama upgrade to its search advertising system. They should also expect the complaints that will follow.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) outlines the problems some advertisers have had with the new system Yahoo is developing. While they are no doubt annoying, they aren't surprising.

Project Panama is a very complicated undertaking that Yahoo will fine tune through trial and error. It's also a huge change for advertisers. Problems are bound to happen. Savvy advertisers understand this and will give Yahoo a chance to straighten them out.

Their patience, though, has its limits. Unhappy advertisers can shift their money to Google Inc. (Nasdaq:Goog) and other competitors. Yahoo's search audience, though smaller than Google's, still is too large for advertisers to ignore completely.

Investors have every right to hold CEO Terry Semel accountable for Project Panama. They will no doubt want to hear the company report solid progress during today's fourth-quarter earnings report. Any slipups will not be viewed kindly.