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Yahoo Panama - Pros and Con
By Scott Van Achte (c) 2007

Near the end of 2006 Yahoo officially unveiled the new back
end for Yahoo Marketing Solutions
(https://login11.marketingsolutions.yahoo.com/adui/signin/
loadSignin.do), widely referred to as the 'Panama' Update.
Since then they have been slowly allowing the upgrading of
accounts from the old into the new system. While not everyone
has had a chance to have their accounts switched over, it is
expected that all will be upgraded by the end of this quarter.

After several months of waiting, this new backend is a welcomed
change as Yahoo finally moves into the future but as with any
new system, it is not without its pros and cons.

New System Pros
The new system is certainly a great improvement over the old.
While adjusting to a new interface and ranking algorithm may
take a little time for advertisers, the end result will present
more relevant ads to the searchers, which will ultimately mean a
higher quality of visitor and should provide a better bang for
one's buck.

  * Previously you were stuck with only one live ad for any
    given phrase; now you can create multiple ads for a given ad
    group. With the ability to have multiple ads for each phrase
    opens the doors to easier testing of which ad copy is better
    suited for your ads and prospective clients.

  * Ad approval is now instant for most ads and keywords.
    While there is still a "pending approval" process for some
    sets of phrases, in many cases your ad changes and keyword
    additions are now instant. No longer do advertisers have to
    wait a number of days for their ads to go live.

  * With the old system, the level of geographic targeting was
    very limited. Under the new Yahoo Panama the options are
    much more sophisticated. For example, there is an option for
    blocking entire continents for your ad campaigns. Rather
    than selecting each continent/country you want to appear in,
    if you are only trying to avoid one specific region, you can
    easily block it from your campaign.

  * The geo targeting options have also expanded to allow for
    more specific ad targeting. Advertisers now have the ability
    to target specific states and provinces – a feature
    previously unavailable. Canadian advertisers were forced to
    advertise to the US even though they wanted ads only to
    appear for the Canadian market. This update now provides the
    option to target Canada only – a big plus for any advertisers
    who are only able to sell in the Canadian marketplace.

New System Cons
There are a few negative aspects that have been widely noted in
many forums and by Yahoo advertisers. As with any new design and
back end, it is expected that there will be some wrinkles. Most
of the problems are relatively minor, and for advertisers on top
of their campaigns, these should not present any major issues.

  * One of the downsides most discussed is the transfer of
    account stats from the old system to the new. Once your
    account has been transferred, the new system will not log
    any of the old system historical data. While this information
    is still accessible by logging into the old interface (which
    is made read only), it would certainly make more sense if
    stats were available under the new account login.

  * Another issue is campaign tracking. After the switch has
    been made, as long as you do not change any tracking settings
    everything should continue to work as normal; once you adjust
    the analytics or tracking options, you will need to replace
    your tracking code with a new piece of code provided by
    Yahoo. There have been reports where after the account is
    upgraded, the conversion stats no longer appear and the code
    needs to be immediately replaced. While not everyone seems
    to be having this problem, it is certainly a bug worth
    noting. If you have not yet upgraded, or upgraded but not
    checked your tracking codes, it would be best to tackle this
    issue right away to ensure everything will work correctly.

  * There have been some reports that after the account
    transition some ad titles, descriptions, and even keywords,
    have been disrupted. Upon upgrading your account be sure to
    check all your ad copy and phrases to ensure that they are
    still correct or you could end up spending money on incorrect
    phrases, or damaged ad copy.

The system is certainly not without its flaws, but generally the
interface is much cleaner and certainly more functional. While
the ability to edit many more aspects of one's account are now
in place, it can be a little daunting to find the right place to
make the change. Some items such as campaign and ad group
settings are more difficult to find than they need to be, and
require more steps than is really necessary. As an example,
below I compare the steps required for the simple task of
renaming a campaign for Yahoo versus Google:

Yahoo
1. Log into your account. You will be presented with your
   account dashboard.
2. Click on the name of the campaign you wish to change
3. Click on "Edit Campaign" in the top right.
4. Click "Edit" at the top right of the "Campaign General
   Information" box.
5. Change the account name.
6. Click "Save Changes".
7. Then click "Dashboard" to return to where you were.

Google AdWords:
1. Log into your account. You will be presented with the "All
   campaigns" view.
2. Click the checkbox beside the campaign you wish to rename and
   click "Edit Campaign".
3. Enter a new campaign name.
4. Click "Save Changes" (also brings you back to where you
   were).

Why is it that Yahoo takes 7 steps to do something that Google
can do in only 4? Not to mention multiple campaigns edits. If
for some reason you wanted to rename all your Google campaigns
at once, it would still take only 3 main steps plus 1 step for
each campaign name changed. For Yahoo you would need to repeat
all 7 steps for each campaign. These same basic steps are also
required for other edits such as campaign budgets, start and end
dates, and to turn a campaign on or off.

This example is not really a big deal in the large scheme of
things, but is simply an indication that while Panama is a large
improvement, there is still much room for refinement. As Yahoo
moves forward into 2007 I am sure we will see more advancements
and changes to the main navigation.

Click Through Rate Increased by New Ranking Algorithm
Along with an entirely new backend system loaded with new
features, Yahoo has also adjusted the way in which they rank
ads. The new ranking algorithm is very reminiscent of Google
AdWords, and miles away from the old bid-for-position model
previously used. Under the old algorithm an advertiser could
dominate the top ranking simply by having deeper pockets. Now
under the new Panama algorithm to guarantee top spot for a
competitive phrase, not only may you still need deep pockets,
but you also need the right phrases, relevant ad text, and a
quality website – giving an opportunity for top rankings to
those with smaller budgets.

According to comScore (http://www.comscore.com/press/
release.asp?press=1222) there has been s significant increase in
the overall click through rate of Yahoo paid ads since the
introduction of the new ranking algorithm. Compared to the week
ending February 4, the last day of the old system, the week
ending February 11 saw a 5% increase in clicks. By February 18th
the total increase in clicks was reportedly at the 9% mark; a
sign that the new system is of significant value to advertisers,
and of course Yahoo. Now these figures may have been skewed
slightly with both Valentines Day and Presidents Day falling
into that range, however, "Bank of America analyst Brian Pitz
said in a research note that he expects click through rates to
grow about 15 percent to 25 percent starting in the second half
of the year."

What has been specifically responsibly for the increase in
traffic? While it may be too early to know for sure, the most
likely reasoning is ad quality. Under the old ranking schematic
it didn't matter what your ad looked like or where you directed
traffic, if you had the dollars, you had the rank. Now that
there are other factors at work, the most relevant, high quality
ads, take the rank, and searchers are obviously noticing the
increased relevance and clicking through.

Scott's Personal Take on the New System
Generally I have to say I like the new system. It makes account
management easier than using the archaic system we had all grown
used to. The new system is much more streamlined and clean cut
compared to the old. That said, when compared to Google AdWords,
it still falls short. It's a great first try, and within the
next year or so I expect to see some more adjustments to make
navigation and functionality improved. For a system with so much
hype and such a long time coming, it seems less desirable than
expected. Editing ad copy and URL's is still much more cumbersome
than its competitor Google, requiring more steps. The account
transition could have been made smoother and items such as
historic stats should have been made more easily accessible and
transferred over to the new account.

Since its early days the Google AdWords system has evolved a
great deal, and the same can be expected from Yahoo. Now that
they have implemented a more scalable and comprehensive system,
it will certainly improve as advertiser feedback is received.

One irrelevant feature, if you can call it that, is that I am
very grateful for the removal of the "security code" requirement
when signing into the account. While I can appreciate the
reasons for having it there in the first place, these security
codes that were popping up everywhere really did drive me crazy,
and it is nice to see this condition being removed. What does it
mean to an advertisers account? Well, really nothing, but it
does put a small smile on my face.

While it is not without its shortcomings, this new system is a
large improvement and I for one welcome it with open arms.
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Scott Van Achte is the Senior SEO at StepForth Search Engine
Placement (http://www.stepforth.com). Several years ago after
graduating from Camoson College with a Diploma in Computer
Systems Technology, Scott joined the team at StepForth and began
his SEO career. When he is not busy with work he can be found
out at the golf course, fishing, or simply spending quality time
with his wife Lyndsay.

Scott can be reached at mailto:scott@stepforth.com
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