Want your account to run the ads that work best for you? Our ad optimization feature automatically displays the Sponsored Search ads that perform the best—based on how you choose to measure ad performance.

We know that not everyone measures success the same way. For example, you might want to optimize for ads that deliver conversions more frequently.

Fortunately, you have control over the way ad optimization works, because you can choose from one of several guidelines to determine your highest-performing ads in a campaign or ad group. You can choose to optimize your ads for:

• Impressions
• Clicks
• Conversions
• Revenue

Optimizing for conversions or revenue requires use of our conversion-only or full analytics feature. If you have analytics turned on and your site is tagged, the system will default to conversions or revenue, but you can change your settings.

Not seeing the link for campaign optimization? It’s probably because it is an advanced feature that is currently available to our higher spending advertisers only. When your account reaches a certain spend level, the feature is automatically enabled in your account.

How to Change Campaign Optimization Settings
Follow these steps to change the ad optimization guidelines for a campaign:
1. Click the “Campaigns” tab.
2. Select a campaign.
3. Click the “Campaign Settings” button.
4. Next to “Campaign Optimization Guidelines”, click “edit”.
5. Choose the guidelines you wish to use.
6. Click “Save Changes”.

Follow these steps to change the ad optimization guidelines for a specific ad group:
1. Click the “Campaigns” tab.
2. Select a campaign.
3. Select an ad group
4. Click the “Ad Group Settings” button.
5. Next to “Ad Group Optimization Guidelines”, click “edit”.
6. On the “Define Ad Group Optimization Guidelines” page, choose the guidelines you wish to use.
7. Click “Save Changes”.

Now all you have to do is decide which performance guideline makes the most sense for you.

— Jeff Hecox

It took more than a 90-minute presentation to convince a new client to step out of its marketing comfort zone. But for Internet marketing firm Wave Direct, it was a matter of persuading its customer, an internationally known five-star hotel chain, that an aggressive Sponsored Search campaign could help generate more timeshare purchases. Given the chance to show what can be accomplished with the right keywords and exciting ad copy—and with the assistance of a talented team of Yahoo! Search Marketing account managers—Wave Direct rolled up some tremendous results.

Company Overview
Established in 2004, Wave Direct is a direct marketing company specializing in customized e-marketing solutions including targeted email, display banners and search engine marketing. With seasoned direct marketer Rob Cheyne at the helm, Wave Direct has established itself as a leader in the rapidly evolving e-marketing arena. In 2007, the firm began managing the online marketing efforts of a widely recognized hospitality chain which operates several all-villa resorts in some of the world’s most desirable destinations. Wave Direct’s marketing efforts have focused on driving high-quality leads to the client’s website so prospects can learn more about the advantages of timeshare ownership.

Starting from Scratch
Prior to hiring Wave Direct, their five-star client managed internally-supported search marketing campaigns which yielded mixed results. After jumping on board, Wave Direct’s team recognized that the optimal demographic target was a much better fit with the users of Yahoo!, so they began working with the Yahoo! team to open an account and get its search ads up and running. A month of ads appearing in Yahoo! Sponsored Search results established baseline metrics, and then the team went to work on fine-tuning the campaign, including adding and deleting keywords, and spicing up the ad creative.

Five-Star Results
Adding more specific, targeted keywords—and ditching the “plain vanilla” ads for more exciting copy with attention-getting words like “luxury” and “opulent”—was the passkey to the penthouse for their efforts as Wave Direct enjoyed some very obvious performance improvements just 24 hours after renovating the campaigns. The firm was able to substantially cut the client’s cost-per-conversions, while increasing the overall number of leads by an impressive 50%. Wave Direct continues to generate great results for their customer, taking advantage of Sponsored Search’s ability to “dial up” bids and budgets on particular keywords during down seasons.

Doubly Good
With their client now sold on the importance and value of search marketing, Wave Direct continually works with its Yahoo! account managers to make any adjustments that will build on the already-impressive marks. The team has added a number of “long-tail” keywords, which are low-volume search terms that are targeted and can convert well. Wave Direct reports that the firm uses the impressive results to help sell other clients on the value of search marketing. Most telling, though, is that in 2008 Wave Direct plans to double its business with Yahoo!.

Lessons Learned

• Think “out of the box” when looking to add keywords, including using “long-tail” terms that are low-cost but can have a high impact.
• Avoid “plain vanilla” copy in your ads; use exciting adjectives that will catch the attention of searchers.
• Use a combination of email, display advertising and search ads to drive the greatest return-on-investment.
• Use common sense in evaluating your campaigns: Take advantage of available reports to see what’s working and what’s not.

Testimonial
“Yahoo!’s account interface is by far the fastest of the three main players. Yahoo! is the most user-friendly company to work with among the Big Three. If I could get the same amount of responsiveness, service and friendliness that I get from Yahoo! from all my other vendors, I would be in a wonderful position.” — Don Eaker, National Sales Director, Wave Direct

— Jeff Hecox

Sometimes my socks don’t match. This is not a fashion statement but usually the result of my hectic morning rush to get out the door and to work. You may always be lucky and conscious of wearing matching socks (which I’m slightly jealous of), but you may have some questions about using match types with your Yahoo! Search Marketing campaign. That’s where we can help you.

First, you need to know that Sponsored Search offers two different “match types” that help you control the way in which your keywords are matched to the terms web users enter into search boxes: Standard and Advanced.

The Advanced Match Type
The Advanced match type is your default match type. It allows your ad to appear in response to a broader range of searches, even when the keyword you are bidding on is not an exact, word-for-word match with the search query.

The benefit of the Advanced match type is that it will display your ad for related searches using keywords that you may not have specifically added to your campaigns. It can also save you time and remove the burden of having to think of every possible keyword related to your products or services. However, while the Advanced match type can deliver more traffic, this traffic could potentially be less relevant.

Example: The keyword “Fender guitar” could be matched to related search terms such as “Fender Telecaster guitar,” “Fender Stratocaster guitar” and “electric Fender guitar.”

When using the Advanced match type, make sure to use excluded words as needed. Excluded words specify search terms that you don’t want to be matched to through the Advanced match type. Here are a few key details about excluded words:
• Excluded words help block certain searches that you believe will not apply to your products or services.
• Example: You only sell new guitars, so you may want to exclude terms such as “free,” “repair,” “used” or “vintage.”
• You can currently exclude up to 250 words at the account level, as well as 250 for each ad group.

The Standard Match Type
This option restricts your ad to be displayed for searches that are exact matches to your keywords, as well as for common variations and misspellings. You may want to consider this for certain keywords and ad groups to help get clicks that are more relevant to your business.

Example: “Fender guitar” could match to “Fender guitars” and “Fender’s guitars.”

You can control your match types from the account level, all the way down to individual keywords. Learn more about them at our help center. But sadly, the help center says nothing about socks.

— Roger Park, Manager, Marketing Communications Manager and occasional non-matching sock wearer

Is your company looking to expand abroad? International sales can be a great way to boost your company’s growth, and Yahoo! Search Marketing is a simple way to get targeted customer leads. With the announcement of the opening of three new markets for Sponsored Search — Southeast Asia, Latin America and India — now’s the perfect time to consider getting a few new stamps on your “advertising passport.”

Using Sponsored Search in our international markets offers many of the same benefits that you have advertising with Yahoo! Search Marketing in the U.S.: the familiar “Panama” user interface, control, and distribution via both Yahoo! and our partners’ properties.

Southeast Asia
The opening of our Southeast Asia market helps businesses reach more than 53 million potential new customers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Yahoo! is, in fact, the most popular online network in Asia Pacific (comScore, May 2007).

Latin America
Yahoo! Search Marketing tiene mucho gusto to announce that Sponsored Search is now open for business across Spanish-speaking Latin America. This new regional marketplace enables advertisers to target customers in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile and Argentina from a single account in that marketplace.

India
The “subcontinent” is a huge and growing Internet market, and the opening of this third Sponsored Search outpost means you can target Indian consumers not only on Yahoo!, but also through partner distribution sites such as MSN India and OneIndia.

— Jeff Hecox

Every month, we get great questions in our ongoing series of advertiser webinars. Even if you’ve never had a chance to attend one of these sessions, this info is too good to keep to ourselves, so with this post we’ll start sharing those questions and their answers with you. To hear the answers firsthand—and pose some Qs of your own—sign up for one of our webinars.

Q: What is the difference between a campaign, an ad group, and an ad?

A: A campaign consists of one or more ad groups that share the same budget, schedule and geo-targeting criteria. A campaign is typically created to support a particular marketing goal, such as a seasonal promotion, or a marketing initiative with separate budgeting or geo-targeting requirements.

At the next level down, an ad group contains keywords that are related to each other, plus a set of ads that can be displayed in response to searches that are relevant to the keywords.

An ad—containing a title, description and landing page URL—is the marketing message displayed to prospective customers searching for or viewing content related to your keywords. Often called “creatives,” ads can be frequently created or altered as you add keywords, or in response to ad testing that gauges ads’ appeal to searchers.

Q: What is the difference between an account spending limit and a campaign spending limit?

A: Your account spending limit allows you to set a budget for your entire account. Of course, you can have multiple campaigns within your account, and each of them can have a different spending limit. However, any one campaign spending limit should not exceed your overall account spending limit.

Q: Does it cost anything to use geo-targeting?

A: Geo-targeting is a free feature on all Yahoo! Search Marketing accounts. It allows you to target your ads to potential customers located or interested in particular geographic areas within the market selected for your account, and can potentially save you money. Geo-targeting permits you to target prospective customers by state, territory or province; or by Designated Market Area (DMA®), which typically means a city and its surrounding area.

Q: How does geo-targeting know where users are, or the area they’re interested in?

A: Geo-targeting looks at factors such as the user’s search query or Internet Protocol (IP) address to determine when to display your ads. For example, if someone in Arizona types in “Limo Service in Los Angeles CA,” then an ad geo-targeted to Los Angeles can be displayed. Please be aware that geo-targeting accuracy is not guaranteed and may vary depending on the level of targeting selected, as well as other factors, such as the quality and type of data in the traffic stream that we receive.

Q: I started a campaign this morning and it is set to end on a specific date a month from now. When will I be able to see the results of that ad campaign?

A: If you have set your campaign to end on a specific date, complete reporting for the ad campaign will be available the day after the campaign is scheduled to end. Of course, you can review your reports at any time during the scheduled duration of your campaign to see how your ads are performing to date.

— The Team

Father’s Day may not get the same amount of attention as Mother’s Day—ask any dad—but consumer spending for Pop is on the rise. According to a 2007 poll conducted by BIGresearch, consumers were expected to spend .9 billion on Father’s Day gifts in 2007, with the average person spending .34, up from .80 in 2006.

If you own or work for a site that sells items that are possible Father’s Day gifts, these suggestions may increase your appeal to consumers who are looking to spend for Dear Old Dad:

• Yahoo!’s keyword insertion tool can work wonders, but be sure to keep an eye on your keywords when using this feature. Keywords such as “father day” will not automatically be changed to “father’s day” when keyword insertion is employed; it may show up without the apostrophe, depending on the search query. To avoid this, create Alt Text for those keywords to help ensure that they appear correctly when placed online.

• Avoid the “feminine” touch in ads that are geared towards men or products that appeal to men. Steer clear of words more typically associated with women, to avoid confusion among searchers seeking Father’s Day gifts. The following example illustrates an ad that could deter people who see it, but which could easily be fixed by changing one word:
  

  Men’s Leather Purse 
  High-quality full-grain leather. Free shipping; no sales tax in USA.

  In case it wasn’t obvious, changing “purse” to “bag” could make all the difference.

• Be careful not to “mom-ize” your listings. While references to flowers and cookie baskets may be great for moms, ads for dads may benefit from focusing on things like gift boxes and mugs, or other “non-mom” items you may sell.

• Listings for tools or appliances perform better when they contain product branding. Be sure to call out the brands you sell, because they catch searchers’ eyes.

• Listings for novelty golf items should focus more on the item itself, rather than the hilarity of the item. Since title and description space is limited, it’s better to use that space to be as descriptive as possible about what you sell.

• Sites that sell golf cart parts and accessories should focus on the accessories in their titles and descriptions. Searchers seeking to buy dad a golf cart accessory probably aren’t interested in buying him parts, as well.

• Personalization helps: If you offer personalized golf clubs or other gifts for dads, be sure to call it out in your ads.

Following these simple rules should help your potential customers bust open their piggy banks to spend for dad—and maybe even find an alternative to the boring old necktie.

– Noah Belson, Content Quality Analyst

Photo courtesy of Karl Gunnarsson via Flickr

There’s a lot of free stuff you could do while attending the upcoming Search Marketing Expo-Advanced in Seattle—like, say, riding Metro Transit downtown during the business day—but most probably won’t help you with your search marketing campaigns. That’s where our free personalized campaign optimization at SMX Seattle comes in.

The half-hour one-on-one optimization session, with a Yahoo! Search Marketing content specialist, can help you learn how to drive more traffic, increase conversions or build brand awareness. So sign up for a session now.

When: 
Tuesday, June 3 and Wednesday June 4

Where:
The Channel Room
Search Marketing Expo-Advanced
The Bell Harbor International Conference Center
Seattle, Washington

Cost:
It’s free! If you aren’t already attending SMX, you can also request a free expo floor pass by Friday, May 30. (Click the “Ready to Register? Click Here!” button on the Registration page, and provide all requested information, then select “Expo Only.”)

What else is at SMX?
Yahoo! is also taking part in a search marketing panel, “Winning From the Start: Getting Ad Copy Right.” Jason Dorn, Yahoo! Senior Director of Ad Quality Strategy, will be on the panel with other industry search marketing experts. The panel takes place Tuesday, June 3 at 10:45 am.

–The Team

Are you still unclear about how the way our minimum bids are now set for Sponsored Search? A free webinar for our advertisers on Thursday, May 29, will help you understand the change.

Sponsored Search keywords can now be lower or higher than $.10, depending on value and quality of that term. The webinar session is designed to tell you everything you need to know about the pricing change, so that you can maintain the performance of your Yahoo! Search Marketing campaigns, or even take advantage of the new minimums to help improve performance.

The webinar will:

• Walk you through the changes associated with the pricing update
• Provide an overview of new account features and functionality
• Share best practices for keyword and ad quality management
• Present sample scenarios of how your account might be affected
• Offer best practices for working with minimum bids

Yahoo! Search Marketing staff will be available during each webinar to answer your questions.  

To register:

Click here to go to the webinar registration pages. First-time webinar registrants will need to create a password of between 4 and 32 characters. If you are unable to attend either webinar, please visit the Help Center to view an archive of the webinar.

–The Team

News Flash: The expectations of search engine users are up. And their patience? Down!

But is this truly news to you? I doubt it. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that these measures have been trending this way for some time now.

However, what may be new info is that such user behavior and attitudes have important implications for marketers. Before we begin our discussion of how you can capitalize on what your users think and do, take a look at the findings from an April 2008 study conducted by JupiterResearch, as it illustrates these trends:

So what are the implications of these findings?

There’s an obvious need to optimize your Web pages and obtain links from credible, relevant sources to maximize the chance of your site to be found on the first few pages of search results. But there are also two other important implications.

Low-Hanging Fruit
First, by using and optimizing all of the assets in your digital library, such as images, videos, audio files and press releases, you can gain a competitive advantage. Seek out these assets within other areas of your company, and if they are appropriate to use, place them on your website and support them with other relevant content.

But don’t stop there. Take these same assets and find resource sites (e.g., YouTube) and social media sites (e.g., Facebook) to post and tag them, so that you can expose your brand to visitors of those sites who may otherwise have never visited your corporate website.

This step is especially important now that all of the major search engines show more than just text in their search results, in what we call “blended results.” Now, such digital assets—on your website or elsewhere—have the potential to supplant your competitors’ listings on the search results pages for your most important keywords. And performing these steps with all your digital assets in a holistic manner will help your brand to dominate the search results page.

Pay for Play
The second implication is that barring the ability for you to effectively compete with other organic (algorithmic) search results—either with your Web pages or the digital assets just discussed—implementing some new paid search strategies can help obtain a greater presence for your brand within top search results. The questions from the study were specific neither to organic nor paid search results, so search engine users are looking at both types of results prior to making their “click or re-launch” decision.

In organic search results you may be competing with competitors that have several years’ head start, thousands of pages of optimized content, thousands of incoming links, and thousands of digital assets that they’ve distributed all over the Internet. But paid search (like Yahoo! Sponsored Search), using compelling ads and strong calls to action, can be used as a great equalizer to overcome any advantages they have in the algorithmic results.

Clearly, users’ expectations continue to rise, and their patience continues to wane. Smart marketers will capitalize on these trends by showcasing their digital assets, and initiating paid search campaigns to help their companies into the first few pages of results.

— Robert J. Murray, President, iProspect

Robert J. Murray is president of search engine marketing firm iProspect in Watertown, Massachusetts, and can be reached at rob.murray@iprospect.com.

CourseAdvisor, an online education research directory that connects prospective students with more than 500 colleges and universities, had mastered the numbers of search marketing but hadn’t leveraged the creative side of search. With help from Yahoo!, CourseAdvisor wrote new ads and restructured its account—and saw its clicks go up 44% during a five-month period.

As a technology-focused company, CourseAdvisor constantly monitored its site traffic and conversion rates. The company was consumed with the technical side of the business, but other elements of its search campaigns suffered. CourseAdvisor needed help balancing the creative and technical sides of search.

“We were taking advantage of the data-driven side of search, but felt we still had great potential on the creative side,” said Addie Conner, Director of Search Marketing at CourseAdvisor. For instance, they typically had just one creative per ad group, which contained large numbers of keywords. CourseAdvisor communicated its needs to Yahoo!, which quickly took action.

About CourseAdvisor
CourseAdvisor matches students’ skills and education needs to degree and certificate programs, serving over 5 million unique visitors per month. Founded in 2004 by a group of MIT and UMass/Amherst college alumni and entrepreneurs, CourseAdvisor applies modern database marketing practices to the academic enrollment cycle. Its primary marketing objective is lead generation; 95% of CourseAdvisor’s business is driven by search marketing. 

Creative Counseling
In order to fully optimize creative, CourseAdvisor first needed to restructure its account. A Yahoo! account team member worked directly with CourseAdvisor to help reorganize its huge list of keywords; CourseAdvisor has hundreds of thousands of keywords in its account. The keywords were reorganized into topical ad groups that allowed creatives to be more relevant; that should help improve the account over time by garnering high quality scores.

Then the team turned its attention to the ad creative, beginning with adding alternative ad titles. They looked at the way keyword phrases were worded in alt text, for example, changing “Degree nursing online” to “Online Nursing Degree.” This change in wording is more readable for the user and a better representation of the brand.

Through daily follow-up phone calls, the Yahoo! Search Marketing team was highly engaged with CourseAdvisor’s search campaign.

“You get a real sense of caring from the Yahoo! team, who go above and beyond to help us out. They have a willingness to learn and grow with our business. We’re reaching a high-quality audience with a high conversion rate,” Conner said.

Results

• CourseAdvisor enjoyed a 44% increase in clicks during a five-month period.
• Due to high quality traffic on Yahoo!, the company’s Yahoo! Search Marketing campaign achieved a higher conversion rate than its campaigns with other search engines.
• CourseAdvisor was able to organize its high volume of keywords into tight, efficient ad groups.
• With better creatives, CourseAdvisor is more likely to show the right ad message to the right customer.