Righteous Marketing » Yahoo

Yahoo/Bing PPC Merger Delayed Until 2011?

Robert — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:42:38 +0000

The merger of Yahoo and Bing into a single interface is the most anticipated PPC event of 2010. We talked all about it in 2009 and I’ve been quite excited because I’m not a fan of Yahoo’s interface. Information has been a bit lacking, but last week we got a video on the Microsoft Advertising blog about the topic.

Say what?

Okay, lot’s of fun pencil drawings and clever animation…blah, blah, blah…”WE ALSO MAY CONSIDER POSTPONING THE TRANSITION TO EARLY 2011″. What? Go back to the 1:30 mark and listen to it again. What you hear is Microsoft giving themselves an escape hatch to push this implementation to next year.

Dang! Six more months of Yahoo’s crappy interface.

Yahoo Search Marketing Steps Up Game, But Why?

Robert — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:34:36 +0000

With the new year have come some fine new improvements from Yahoo Search Marketing. On January 12th Yahoo announced increased control of the content network as well as the ability to import AdWords campaigns directly into Yahoo (this should have been there years ago). They also just upped the number of negative keywords allowed from 250 to 500. These are great improvements and I’ll definitely be using them. However, this got me thinking.

Too Little Too Late?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but part of the Bing/Yahoo deal was that Bing would be taking over the PPC business and Yahoo would be doing display. Therefore, if Yahoo is just a few months from being rolled into Bing, why are they putting out so many improvements? Likely this is just the wrap-up of projects that were in process. Tying up loose ends. Also, this could be somewhat of a beta test of features that were planned for the merged “Binghoo” entity. Unlikely as it seems, it may also be Yahoo covering themselves in case the Bing takeover doesn’t go as smoothly or quickly as it’s supposed to go.

What do you think? Why is Yahoo even bothering?

Thursday 3-Pack of PPC Tips

Robert — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:11:22 +0000

For today’s post I’m going to borrow from Charles Dickens a bit. You will be visited by 3 PPC tips; the PPC past, PPC present and PPC future.

PPC Past – Our ghost of PPC past is Kate Morris who wrote this exceptional post about dayparting using Google Analytics. This is a step-by-step guide that will reveal important data to help you know what time of day justifies additional (or any) spend.
PPC Present – Our ghost of PPC present is the Official AdWords blog, posting about the recent change to the display URL policy on subdomains. However, Brad Geddes thinks they still didn’t get it quite right.
PPC Future – Our ghost of PPC future is Mike Churchill of SEM Clubhouse writing about the new Yahoo PPC Network distribution option. Proving that it’s better late than never, Yahoo finally gives advertisers more control over content network impressions and bids (though I wish they would have also bumped the number of Domain Blocks up since 500 isn’t enough sometimes).

Yahoo Ad Delivery Report – Okay, But Could Have Been Better

Robert — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:10:07 +0000

Despite the Bing buyout, Yahoo launched a new report last week; the Ad Delivery Report. According to Yahoo:

Our new Ad Delivery Report will show the sources of your traffic—whether that be Yahoo! or some of our partners—but also how that traffic performs. Combined with one of our analytics options, you can track measurements such as impressions, click-throughs, conversions and return on ad spend. You can also filter the results by account, domain and tactic.

First Impressions

To find the new report, log in to your Yahoo account and click the Reports tab in the top navigation. At first I didn’t see the report, but on closer inspection you’ll see it in the “Traffic Quality Reports” section near the bottom of the left nav (see picture).

Voila! You now have a list of all the different sites where your ads are showing with their relative statistics so that you can eliminate poor performers. But…

Close, but No Cigar

I immediately started seeing domains that I wanted to block, but alas, I couldn’t find a way to do so. I had to log in to the same Yahoo account in another browser, go to the Administration tab and add domains manually to the usual Blocked Domains section. Come on Yahoo! Really?

Also, you can’t block subdomains of Yahoo. Therefore, if you find that answers.yahoo.com is racking up the impressions with no clicks or tons of clicks with no conversions, you can’t put them on the list. Lame!

So what do y’all think of the new report? Another disappointment from Yahoo? Do you like it?

Bing! And Then There Were Two

Robert — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:13:08 +0000

As has been reported everywhere, Microsoft finally got their hands on Yahoo’s search. Some say the move is necessary to create a viable competitor to Google’s monopoly. Some bemoan the death of Yahoo (since they’re the only “old school” search engine still around). Virtually every possible angle has already been covered, so I’ll just talk about what the merger means to me, the PPC manager at Vizad.

First, The Bad News

Muddled demographics – Yahoo is more social, skews younger and more female. Microsoft is more corporate, skews older and more male. Now it will be one big muddled mess (just like Google)
Wasted certification – My Certified Yahoo Ambassador status is a goner (though the Ambassador program was pretty much gone already)

The Silver Lining

One less interface(eventually) – No more dealing with Yahoo’s clunky, slow web interface and both Bing and Google have desktop clients
I’m in total control – No longer do I have to worry that Yahoo has turned off my ads in the name of optimization, or added keywords, or added new ad groups or … you get my point
A legitimate contender – While everyone talks about search generally, the Google monopoly is most problematic on the advertising side. A solid competitor (with deep pockets to compete) will hopefully create a healthier market for PPC advertisers

I’m sure there will be problems as two gigantic companies try to merge something so complex. I’m sure you’ll hear plenty from the pundits, but for a PPC manager like me this will likely improve life. How will it affect you?

Web Ads Getting Savvier

Robert — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:24:11 +0000

As I was browsing the internet last week I came across a very normal occurrence (an ad for the upcoming Star Trek movie) that was unique as far as I can remember. This ad, which I have included below, was unique because it very clearly states “You Will Not Leave Yahoo!”

This type of ad has been around a long time, but this is the first time I remember the ad telling me that I would not be taken off-page if I wanted to see the movie clip. Of course I watched the clip without leaving Yahoo and last weekend I saw Star Trek (great casting, 4.5 out of 5 stars from me).

Are Advertisers Getting Smarter?

For many this may seem a trivial detail, so insignificant that it is the smallest font in the ad. However, I believe it shows that advertisers have wised up about user behavior.

Users are increasingly blind to advertising in general which has led to more rich ad formats that actually deliver value (a movie clip) right in the ad.
Users don’t trust advertisements because they don’t know where the click will lead. This ad resolves that fear by letting you know that you’ll stay within the safety of the Yahoo homepage.

Congratulations to the ad team that put this together. Keep it up (but don’t get carried away and think you can start putting email capture forms in ads).

3 Reasons Yahoo SHOULD Sell Search to Microsoft

Robert — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:02:21 +0000

Dear Carol Bartz (or your assistant who actually might look at what people are saying about the company),

Congratulations on being named CEO of Yahoo. With the numerous stories published about Yahoo I am grateful that the compulsory CEO head shot features your pleasant smile instead of Jerry’s goofy smile. If not for the reports that you swear like a sailor I could almost visualize you bringing a plate of fresh baked cookies to the boardroom for meetings.

Now I realize that you have a pretty major monkey on your back courtesy of Mr. Yang. Everybody knows that the Microsoft offer last year would have been stealing money, but unfortunately Jerry didn’t take it. Now Microsoft is knocking on the door with a much less attractive deal. However, I believe that selling search is in your best interest, and I’ll give you 3 reasons why:

Why Yahoo Should Sell Search

Improved Interface – Ask any PPC manager handling Google, Yahoo and MSN and they’ll tell you that your interface is the hardest to use.
Desktop Editor – Presuming that you actually want your advertisers to have large accounts that spend lots of money, the Microsoft adCenter Desktop will let those advertisers easily handle large accounts (myself included).
Money – Microsoft is already dumping millions into search to compete. You still have nearly 20% of search and Microsoft will pay dearly to become a legitimate competitor in the space.

So there you have it Carol. Have an intern or assistant pretty that up with a nice slide deck and you’re ready to pitch to the board.

Best Regards,

Robert Brady

PPC Wizard

Yahoo Sinking Fast

Robert — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:29:16 +0000

As I was reading TechCrunch today I noticed a recurring theme; Yahoo is starting to sink like the Titanic. Three separate posts detail how top talent is leaving the company (or getting fired, depending on how you view these things), Microsoft has officially pulled out of all negotiations to purchase all or part of Yahoo (and make a somewhat viable competitor to Google), and that Google will now swoop in like an opportunistic vulture to gobble up the rotting remains of the once powerful Yahoo.

I know that sounds awfully dire and I purposefully conjured up some pretty vivid imagery, but let me clarify a couple of points. First, Yahoo still has billions of dollars of value simply because of their brand equity and web property portfolio. Nobody will enjoy the spoils of Yahoo’s fall without paying a pretty penny. Second, Yahoo may be able to survive independently, but not unless something drastic happens. Jerry Yang can’t just make a few minor tweaks with the algorithm and the website to save this ship. He needs to change the way Yahoo competes because going head-to-head with Google in search will just get them beat up like the scrawny kid on the elementary school playground.