A Plan, a Primer, Panama!

Page Zero’s Mona Elesseily Masters the New Sponsored Search

You might think me old-fashioned and condemn the size of my carbon footprint, but I have a confession: I like paper. I’m the guy who likes to have the WordPress for Nimrods book propped up next to his computer rather than search the online help. I just like it all there. So sue me.

But if the sales of “…for Dummies” books and “Complete Idiot” guides are any indication, I’m far from the last paper-holic out there. Luckily, for demi-luddites like us stuck ‘tween the digital and the doorstop, there are options, even for Yahoo! search advertisers.

Page Zero’s Mona Elesseily, a search maven whose conference appearances always draw enthusiastic crowds, has just released her study, Mastering Panama: A special report on Yahoo’s new search marketing platform.   

Mona’s 96-page wire-bound booklet serves as a handy reference guide to almost everything that’s new in the new Sponsored Search, and then some. To get the true insider’s view of the product, Mona worked with some of our top minds here at Yahoo! Search Marketing. Mona also undertook considerable research, speaking to third parties and agencies in the search marketing sphere.

“Mastering” acts as a Panama primer, first laying out the basics and then diving in deep to offer more detail and strategies for making your campaigns a success. Although we’ve made a few additions to the system since the book was first put to bed, it nevertheless offers a solid foundation and considerable strategic insight that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else.

Punctuated with “Helpful Hints” and “Action Items,” Mastering’s eight chapters each take on a different aspect of the new system, with extensive material on navigating the interface; features and functions like geo-targeting, forecasting, fast ad activation, analytics, the ad quality index and match types, and so on. (In fact, it gave me a few forehead-slapping moments mysef, and I work here.)

More importantly, the book offers tips on how best to use these features and functionalities, as well as pitfalls to avoid. Bonus material includes sound advice on how to smartly get more keywords into your account, how to integrate your keyword and landing page strategies, tried and true lessons in copywriting, and specific ad copy recommendations.

Mastering Panama: A special report on Yahoo’s new search marketing platform, is available from Page Zero Media for $87.00 (and likely tax-deductible as a business expense).

—Michael Mattis