Tuesday
09Mar2010

Yahoo Search Marketing Desktop

FINALLY!  Yahoo released their Desktop tool for use by search marketers.  Yahoo Desktop allows offline Campaign editing, and works quite like Google's AdWords Editor.  The best use I've found for the Desktop tool is the cloning of my clients' Google Campaigns to YSM.  Simply download the Google campaign in AdWords Editor, then upload with Yahoo Desktop.  Adjust any necessary settings, like default bids, match type, etc., then post.  What used to take hours, now only takes minutes.  FYI:  You'll still need to manually tag your Yahoo URLs (use Google's URL Builder) for proper recognition by Google Analytics and Hitslink.

Tuesday
05Jan2010

Yahoo Tactics: Match Type

I recently assumed management of a YSM account where ad spend and cost per conversion was out of control.  For a quick fix, while preparing for more thoughtful campaign retooling, I simply changed the account level keyword match type from "Advanced" to "Standard", effectively changing all keywords from "broad" match to "exact" (including singular/plural versions and misspellings). 

Comparing the 45 days before and after this simple change (and no other changes have been made due to focus on a similarly out of control AdWords account), the results have been astonishing:  CTR improved 98% (2.67% to 5.29%), Conversion rate improved 49% (.69% to 1.03%), and Cost Per Conversion declined 20% ($56 to $45). 

This simple adjustment, done within the Administration/Tactic Settings tab achieved significant cost savings to the client (and more than covered my monthly bill!)...AND it eliminates the never-ending chore of having to mine for negative keywords!

 

Build a Website in 30 minutes. Try Free, Click Here. Advanced Keyword, Search Engine, Campaigns, Analytics & Website Statistics....