Yahoo! Sponsored Search Service
One of the best ways to promote your business to prospects and customers is by using Yahoo! Search results.
"The latest version of Yahoo's Sponsored Search
simplifies
management of pay-per-click advertising."
– PC World
You're probably well-aware of Yahoo!'s success and place among the industry leaders in delivering effective advertising search results. It makes perfect sense, really: Yahoo! is the most popular destination on the web.
At the same time, there's no shortage of companies offering to help you connect (via search technologies) with customers who are pre-qualified to be interested in your products and services, as results-driven online search marketing is gaining larger and larger percentages of many companies' marketing budgets.
But how does it all work — and which companies are offering which specific benefits? And where do you start — or at least turn for more information and understanding of this new but critical marketing tool?
We like the looks of Yahoo! Sponsored Search (formerly Overture) for lots of reasons, starting with how easy it is to set up and use. It really just takes five fairly simple steps:
- Target your potential customers by location.
- Choose keywords best suited to your business.
- Establish your spending limits.
- Create your company's ads.
- Review and activate your campaign.
How does it work — and much does it cost?
Here's the key to search advertising: unlike advertising in magazines or other traditional media, with search marketing such as Yahoo! Sponsored Search, you pay only when your ad is clicked (see the web link below for specific pricing information).
In this highly accountable "pay-per-click" ad model, you set your maximum bid price — starting as low as $0.10 — the amount you're willing to pay each time your ad is clicked. Then, just set a maximum amount you're willing to spend per day, or for each campaign in total, and set up a deposit schedule to support your specified budgets. That's all there is to it!
Ad quality also counts.
In search, money shouldn't be everything. In Yahoo!'s new ranking model, your ads are ranked not only on your bid price, but also by the quality of your ads. This is based on two criteria: 1) the ad's expected performance (based on Yahoo!'s proprietary algorithms), and 2) the ad's historical performance (previous click-through rates, etc.).
Key Services
Yahoo! Sponsored Search includes plenty of new tools to help you get even better results:
- Geo-targeting. Tailor campaigns across larger markets or smaller, more precisely targeted locations. Over time, you'll be able to identify key markets—and control your costs.
- Campaign budgeting. Set daily spending limits at Daily or Account levels. You can also view estimated impressions and clicks for your maximum bids. You can always adjust maximum bids or other campaign limits as needed.
- Ad Testing. Test multiple versions to see what's working best for your customers. The Yahoo! Sponsored Search system then automatically displays your most successful ads.
- Account Management. Set campaign schedules with full control over stop and start dates. Generate new keywords easily to extend your campaign. Bulk ad management lets you import existing ads from third-party search provides using a simple spreadsheet.
- Advanced reporting. Enjoy easy access to customized performance reports, billings and payments, more graphical charting, historically based forecasting and more¬—all right on your desktop. Choose from a general overview, or drill down into all the details whenever you want.
- Fast ad activation. Don't let customers get away (or the competition get ahead). Get your ads online within minutes of submission.
- Content matching. Increase efficiency by featuring your ads on relevant web sites to increase site traffic. Look for publisher sites, newsletters or email-based opportunities.
Learn more
On the web:
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/
