New Advertisers, Welcome Aboard

The new Sponsored Search platform is now available to all U.S. marketers who open new accounts with us

Step by step, the introduction of Yahoo! Search Marketing’s new account interface and platform continues. This time, the event we’re celebrating is the launch of the upgraded sign up experience for new U.S. advertisers who have not used our product in the past. Beginning today, all new U.S. Sponsored Search sign-ups will use the new flow and immediately begin managing their accounts through the easy-to-use, more powerful platform.

Hey, What about Us?
If you are a current U.S. advertiser who hasn’t yet upgraded, your time is coming. We began the process of upgrading U.S. advertisers to the new Sponsored Search in October, and invitations to upgrade will continue to be sent in stages to U.S. advertisers over the remainder of this year and early next year. You will receive your individual upgrade date via email at least one week in advance. But if you want it now, you can still request an early upgrade, and we’ll try to accommodate your request.

The Big Five
Ready to sign up? There are five basic steps to getting your campaign up and running with Sponsored Search:

1. Target ads by location
Geo-Targeting allows you to target your ads to potential customers located or interested in particular geographic areas. Example: If your business sells real estate within the state of California and you select California as a geo-targeted region, your ads will be shown to potential customers located in California, as well as to search users that may be located outside of California but enter search terms such as “California Real Estate.”(1)

2. Select keywords for your ad groups
You select the keywords that best describe your products and services.

3. Set pricing and budget
Because you determine the price you are willing to pay for each click, Sponsored Search can offer an affordable way for your business to reach customers. You only pay when your ad is clicked, and your spend should not exceed the amount you budget for each ad group.

4. Write the ad copy for each of your ad groups
Your ads are comprised of titles, descriptions and display URLs that describe your site and what you have to offer. Effective ads are short, factual and objectively written. Remember to include your company name in your descriptions.

5. Review your ad(s) and create your account
After you review your ads and provide us with some basic information to get your account activated, we’ll run them through a standard editorial review, then your ads are distributed across our vast network of sites. A Sponsored Search buy can display your listings on popular sites like Yahoo!, CNN.com, Disney.com, Infospace and many others.

For more information on a new account sign up, please view our Sign-Up Tutorial.

Leave the Driving to Us
Need some help getting started? With the assisted setup sign-up option, Yahoo! Search Marketing specialists will build a campaign that’s customized to your budget and goals. Our specialists will:

• Select relevant keywords.
• Write effective ads (titles and descriptions).
• Determine bid amounts that work best with your budget.

To take advantage of assisted setup, just select “Assisted Setup” on the sign-up page and follow the instructions. You’ll receive a proposed campaign in two to five business days, and a specialist will contact you to discuss it.

With more than 38 million people using search engines daily(2), and 67% of U.S. adults who research online before making a purchase decision using search engines as a research tool(3), it seems clear that search marketing is one of the best-performing Internet marketing tactics.

— Jeff Hecox

Footnotes:
1. Geo-targeting accuracy is not guaranteed, and may vary depending on the level of targeting selected, as well as other factors.
2. “Search Engine Users,” PEW Internet & American Life Project Report, January 2005
3. “How America Searches: Online Shopping,” iCrossing, based on Harris Interactive poll, August 26-30, 2005