Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing Guide
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This is a review of Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing. We'll compare the two services in a variety of areas, including pricing, content networks, special features that each company offers (such as geotargeting), and more. We'll kick off with an examination of the ad sizes that each service permits.
Title, Content and URL Length
AdWords - The title length is limited to 25 characters. Two description lines are limited to 35 characters each. The display URL is limited to 35 characters.
Yahoo Search Marketing - The title length is limited to 40 characters. Description is limited to 70. Yahoo also lets you create optional 190-character descriptions that are shown on some partner networks. Yahoo treats plural and singular keywords as equals. If you bid on "cat" your ad will show up for both "cat" and "cats."
Pricing
AdWords sets a maximum bid price, and your bid will never exceed that price. In many cases, the actual cost per click will be less than your maximum bid price because your bid has to exceed the second highest bidder. If for example your maximum bid is $2, and the second highest bid is $1,50, you'll pay slightly above $1.50. You can also set a daily spend limit. Google charges a $5 set up fee, which is converted to click credits.
Use Google Traffic Estimator to see estimated bid prices in all countries.
Yahoo Search Marketing treats your bids the same way; that is, your costs per click will not exceed the maximum bid price. Yahoo charges a $5 sign up fee which is converted to click credits. You can also pay $199 for Yahoo editors to set up an account for you, but don't use this option - do it yourself.
Click Through Rate
Both Google and Yahoo include click through rate (CTR) in quality score computation. The click score rate is the relationship between ad clicks and the number of times your ad shows up. If the ad is served 10 times and gets 5 clicks, than the CTR is 0.5. The higher that rate, the better.
Both Google and Yahoo offer bid discounts to advertisements with high click through rates. It's possible to have a lower bid, but hold number one spot. Search engines reward high CTR because the more ad clicks they get, the more money they make.
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