Archive for April, 2007

Say Moshi Moshi!

Overture Japan Launches a Blog of its Own

Moshi moshi—say it real fast—is the charming Japanese phrase for “hello!” when answering the phone. Well, on Wednesday, Overture Japan (Yahoo!’s search marketing operation in Japan), launched its own blog and we’d like to say “hello” to the team over the Internets.

Kicked off with a post from our own Mark Morrissey, the Overture Japan blog opens a new line of interactive communication between Overture and its search advertisers in the Japanese market. 

So to our friends across the Pacific, moshi moshi. Tonight we raise a cup of saki to you and say kanpai!

—The Team

Think Short

Short Descriptions to be Required Starting in May

I’m sorry this letter is so long, but I did not have time to make it shorter.

—Mark Twain or Blaise Pascal

Scholars differ about the source of the quote above. Some think Twain said it. Others think Pascal said it. It doesn’t matter, because either way, it’s spot-on. Writing concisely is harder and often more time-consuming than writing verbosely. But it’s also more effective. English teachers have been saying so for a century or more.

Selling Short?
Our users’ search experience is key to your success: We’ve found that ads written more concisely give users a better experience and perform better for advertisers. When users are exposed to higher quality search ads you, the advertiser, may attract more interested and enthusiastic potential customers. 

As an advertiser, you have two options for your ad descriptions, one long (up to 190 characters) and one short (70 characters or fewer). At present, you may use either. Starting in May, however, a short description will be required, while a long description will be optional. This means for all new or modified ads you must provide a short description.  And starting in June, ad descriptions longer than 70 characters may automatically be cut off in Yahoo! Sponsored Search results. We will shorten the description at the nearest complete word to 70 characters, followed by an ellipsis (”…”).  Long descriptions will continue to be shown on some of our external distribution partner web sites. 

It’s Best to Start Early
The long and short of it is that if you have not provided short descriptions (fewer than 70 characters) for your ads in the past, we recommend that you do now, before June, when the change occurs in Yahoo! Sponsored Search results. Ads that are “truncated”—or automatically cut off after 70 characters—may not be as relevant and may get a lower Quality Index score and, potentially, a lower ranking in search results.

To add a short description to a given ad:

• Log into your account
• Click the Campaigns tab
• Click on a campaign containing the ad(s) you wish to modify
• Select the specific ad group containing the ad(s) you wish to modify
• Click on the Ads tab
• Click on the name of the ad you wish to modify
• Write a short description in the box indicated on the “Create Your Ad” page
• Click “Save Changes”

The “Create Your Ad” page looks like this:

Here are a few tips for writing effective short ad descriptions:

Shorter is Sweeter
Web copy should only be 25 percent as long as print copy, in ads as well as other text.

A Short Sentence
What do they say about marriage? It’s not a word, it’s a sentence? Well, your short description is usually better off as a sentence than a fragmented set of words. Instead of “Discount chocolates from Mike. Starting $4.99 per box. Sale! For limited time only” try “Enjoy Mike’s gourmet chocolates, now on sale at just $4.99 a box.”

Strunk and White Were Right
Follow these simple rules from William Strunk and E.B. White’s famous writing guide The Elements of Style:

Make every word tell—Every word should be to-the-point and none wasted
Omit needless words—See above
Use the active voice—”Give the gift of sweetness with Mike’s affordable gourmet chocolates” is better than, “Mike’s gourmet chocolates are known to be the sweetest treats around, are quite inexpensive and make a great gift.”
Put statements in positive form—Instead of saying “Mike’s chocolates are known to be loved among gourmets,” say “Gourmets love Mike’s chocolates.”

For more tips on writing good ad descriptions, see the post “Creating Ad Copy that Clicks” from Mona Elesseily, author of the Yahoo! Search Marketing Handbook.

Please note that after the introduction of truncation in May, the space limit for titles will remain at 40 characters, while display URLs will be reduced to a maximum of 35 characters. We’ll go more into that later. And, of course, we’ll post a reminder to include short descriptions if you haven’t already. 

For more information, please visit this page or call Customer Solutions at 1-866-YAHOO-SM

—Michael Mattis

Yahoo! at SES NY, 2007

The Big Apple’s the Place to Be

“No one should come to live in New York unless he is willing to be lucky.”—E.B. White

I’ve been captivated by E.B. White’s 1939 classic, Here is New York since reading it many years ago for a class in journalism school. It is a portrait and a paean to “Noo Yawk City” so compelling that one is obliged to follow White non-stop through his marathon-length amble around the greatest city in the world.

If you happen to be in the city that, as White put it, brings “to a single compact area the gladiator, the evangelist, the promoter, the actor, the trader and the merchant,” next week, you’ll surely want a little time to wander. But few ever go to New York without a purpose. If you’re reading this blog and are planning to be in New York next week, chances are you’re going for the Search Engine Strategies New York 2007 conference, to be held Tuesday, April 10 through Friday, April 13.

While you’re strolling around the exhibit hall, you’ll definitely want to saunter up to booth #2400. Yes, that’s the Yahoo! booth, where our dedicated Yahoos will be on hand to answer your questions, hand out schwag and generally make things pleasant and informative.

In addition, you’ll want to catch these Yahoo! panels, which will be informative and get you off your feet.

Tuesday, April 10:

Meet the Mobile Search Engines
Learn more about mobile search, how it operates and where it may be going during this panel consisting of representatives from mobile search engines. Panelist: Paul Yiu, Product Manager for Mobile Search, Yahoo! Search Marketing  

Wednesday, April 11:

Domaining & Address Bar-Driven Traffic
Learn how the domaining business is growing, how it can deliver relevant traffic to advertisers, as well as the issues with typo domains and opt-out issues. Panelist: Paul Boruta, Sr. Manager, Domain Match

Meet the Search Ad Networks
Representatives from major search engines that sell paid listings and other search advertising discuss new aspects to their programs and answer general audience questions. Panelist: Stewart Easterby, Vice President Sales Operations, Yahoo! Search Marketing

Duplicate Content & Multiple Site Issues
More and more site owners are concerned that they might get penalized accidentally or overtly because of duplicate content. This session looks at these issues and explores solutions. Panelist: Amit Kumar, Engineering Manager, Yahoo! Search

Thursday, April 12:

Be a Better Marketer with Yahoo!
Since Yahoo! introduced its new search marketing system, known as “Panama,” last fall, marketers have spent some time getting to know how the new features and capabilities can help maximize their search marketing campaigns. On this panel, you’ll have an opportunity to hear what advertisers and agencies have to say about their experiences with the new system to date, ask questions, and learn about their suggested best practices for becoming a better marketer with Yahoo! Moderator: Andrew Goodman, Page Zero. Speakers: Matt Greitzer, Ave A| Razorfish; Scott Smigler, Exclusive Concepts

Social Search Overview
Humans are hot again when it comes to search. But this time, it’s not the old school method of using a small group of human editors to categorize the web. Instead, search engines are more widely tapping into human knowledge through tagging, click-through tracking, search history features and other methods. Learn about the social search revolution that’s underway. Panelist: Tomi Poutanen, Senior Director of Product Management, Yahoo! Social Search

Searcher Behavior Research Update
How do searchers interact with search engines? New research is constantly coming out that reveals how searchers act. This session explores the latest studies and findings to provide tips and tactics for search marketers to consider. Panelist: Anne Frisbie, Vice President of Category and Sales Intelligence, Yahoo! Search Marketing

And you will definitely want to attend this session:

Auditing Paid Listings & Click Fraud Issues
Did you really get that much traffic from paid listings last month, or is something funny going on? Discover how to spot abnormalities and follow-up with search engines if you suspect a competitor or someone else is creating clicks just to drive up your costs. Panelist: Reggie Davis, Vice President of Marketplace Quality, Yahoo! Search Marketing.

Enjoy the Big Apple and don’t forget to write!

—Michael Mattis

Editorial Guidelines Benefit Everyone

An Intro to Finding Your Editorial Status

With the frontrunners distinguishing themselves for 2008 presidential candidacy, it only seems right to reveal a little known fact about how newspapers choose candidates for endorsement. Typically, the editorial board of a newspaper will conduct lengthy interviews with contenders and choose those whose positions on crucial issues are aligned with the newspaper. This method has proven favorable for newspapers when candidates maintain their positions with integrity, and is just as positive for candidates who require good press to boost their public rating.

Similarly, the editorial guidelines that govern paid search ads on Yahoo! create a reciprocal benefit to the search marketplace and its advertisers. Advertisers have the opportunity to direct searchers to their goods and services, and, in turn, Yahoo! is perceived as a trusted source for information that searchers are seeking. Without editorial guidelines, these shared benefits would have difficulty coexisting.

With that in mind, here are some tips on finding the editorial status for your account’s ad submissions:

Click on the Campaigns tab, then the Editorial Status subtab to view the Editorial Status page.

• View the summarized list of keywords or ads in an editorial status by clicking on their respective tabs.

Click on the individual keyword or ad name links to view the Editorial Details Page for the specific keyword or ad.

• The Editorial Details Page provides a reason for “removed” or “declined” ads and keywords.
• An ad or keyword is in a “pending” status when it has been recently submitted and has yet to be reviewed by our editorial staff.

Your ad or keyword will not display a status if it has already been approved.

• Approved ads and keywords may be accessed from the Campaigns tab by clicking on the Summary subtab.

—Stephanie Bilberry, Yahoo! Search Marketing Writer

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