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10 TIPS FOR YAHOO MARKETING SUCCESS
(Yahoo's Search Marketing subsidiary is called Overture)
by Richard Ball
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Use keywords in ad text
Show the searcher that your ad is relevant.
Yahoo will display the search keywords in bold in your
ad if they're present. This helps your ad stand out
from the crowd.
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Bid for double exposure
Perform a search on search.yahoo.com and notice that 2 or 3
ads are displayed twice on the page, at the bottom of the
page in full length and at the top right in condensed form.
Rather than bidding high for the full ads at the top of the
page, consider bidding lower for the bottom of the page
and double your exposure.
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Take advantage of bid gaps
Large advertisers blindly set bids across all keywords.
This creates a tremendous opportunity to save money.
Bid on a keyword by keyword basis rather than setting
bids by category.
Read this article
for more information on bidding strategies, including bid gaps.
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Avoid bidding wars
Don't waste money getting into bidding wars for a handful
of high volume keywords. Instead, expand your keyword list to
include more specific keywords that have a lower search volume.
Collectively, these keywords will reach the search volume
of more expensive keywords. Your average CPC (cost per click)
will fall dramatically using this tactic.
Use keyword research tools
to expand your list of keyword phrases.
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Use both standard and advanced match types
Start with match types set to advanced, unless you are
on a very tight budget or nervous about your ad spend.
Track initial results very closely. For high volume
keywords that aren't performing well, either
add excluded words or switch to standard match.
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Use excluded words
Your advanced match ad will not be displayed if the
search includes an excluded word.
Add more excluded words at regular intervals.
As your excluded word list grows,
you will save money by avoiding unqualified clicks.
Plus, you'll decrease the chance of your keywords
being removed due to low click index scores.
For example, if you sell products or services at a premium,
include excluded words like:
free
cheap
discount
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Use a relevant landing page
For most searches, don't point the ad to your home page.
Choose a landing page on your site that includes the keywords
from the search. In some cases, it's worth creating
a custom page that's not in the normal navigation of your site.
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Try the plural trick
The keyword selector tool
doesn't usually differentiate between plural and singular forms of a
keyword. However, there are instances where this is not the case.
Always check both forms of a keyword.
Creating ads for the plural form when it's available
will increase your keyword inventory and will lower your
overall CPC as most advertisers don't know to bid on these keywords.
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Don't forget about MSN
When setting bids for keywords, test those keyword searches
on both search.msn.com and search.yahoo.com to see the
position of your ads. MSN sells their own keyword ads
but supplements with Overture results.
MSN can be a valuable source of traffic and should
not be overlooked.
Set your bids accordingly.
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Track your results
Don't rely on Yahoo's reporting tools. They're reasonable, but you need
more detail, particularly to see which actual keyword phrases
your advanced matches are triggering. You'll need this to help build
your list of excluded words for advanced match keywords.
Plus, click fraud is a problem and needs to be addressed.
If you don't have web analytics software in place,
use our free Yahoo Search Marketing tracking software.
Make sure Yahoo's Easy Track feature is turned on.
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