We have checked a couple of them in the previous blog. Let me elaborate on some more features:

Dynamic keyword insertion ads: Let us now check the implications for DKI ads. There was that time on AdWords when black-hatters could make use of DKI and get around Google terms of service with convenience. They would do so by opting to dynamically insert trademark terms in ads.

However, those days are now gone! So if a dynamic insertion apparently causes a trademark to appear, Google will simply employ the default ad text instead. On the other hand, Microsoft will take that keyword offline if and when a dynamic insertion results in a trademark complaint.

Specific versus general complaints: Google lets trademark owners file general or generic trademark complaints, which may apply to all relevant ads. The search engine giant also allows them to identify certain trademark users who can be authorized to make use of the trademarks in ads. On the other hand, Microsoft requires that trademark owners file very specific complaints if and when they come across ads that apparently infringe (they perceive it so) on their trademarks.

In effect, the advertisers need to continually monitor the paid search listings for the purpose of keeping competitors off their trademarks and avoid any kind of infringement. Microsoft might or might not take a cue on this count from Google and let trademark owners file general complaints. However, the company emphasizes that they are, as does Google, ‘not a mediator’. It’s the trademark owners who are ultimately responsible when it comes to guard their trademarks.

Agencies acting for or on behalf of trademark owners: Both Microsoft and Google let ad agencies act on a trademark holder’s behalf and file complaints. The process to obtain sanction is well documented at the Google website.

You may struggle the relevant details on the Microsoft adCenter site. A company spokesperson has recently clarified that they do have in place a one-time agency authorization form to be filled by trademark owners and advertisers. You may check with Microsoft representative for further details.

Search versus content networks: Google and Microsoft will investigate complaints regarding trademarks in their search as well as content networks. You may or may not be presently advertising on the respective content networks, it is advisable that you monitor them for infringing ads. It’s not that easy as your ads can surface on so many sites. Services like Keyword Spy and SpyFu can be of help in spotting trademark infringements. Adgooroo is a tool that reports on search as well as display ads.

Non-advertisers: AdWords and adCenter Both accept trademark violations even from non-advertisers.

Meanwhile, what’s your experience when it comes to advertising on the new combined Yahoo! Content and Microsoft Ads network? Is it bringing your brand increased visibility? Has it helped you as a customer to achieve your advertising goals? Do share your experiences and what precautions you are taking? I am keen to hear from you Microsoft Advertising.

Advertisers, who won’t mind bidding on their competitors’ trademarks as preferred keywords, can in a way, cut & paste AdWords brand term ad groups into Microsoft adCenter, to witness quick rise boost in online traffic flow and conversions.

As we’ve grasped in the previous post, with this modification in policy, it becomes possible to poach off trademarks of a competitor by bidding on them as key terms on Yahoo as well as Bing, just the way you have always been permitted to on search engine giant Google. The question to be asked is: If you can bid on trademarks in AdWords and adCenter, does it really mean you can escape any legal action? In this context, we are also looking at recent court decision.

As already informed, a California district court in late January came up with a ruling that can have significant implications particularly for paid search advertisers. In the hearing of a matter involving Harry J. Binder and Disability Group Inc., the judges penalized an overly enthusiastic PPC marketer (in this case, the Disability Group).

The court in this case has ruled that both personal and corporate liabilities are involved. So this issue is not about business risk alone; this is well about your personal liability, as the ruling suggests. In the backdrop of this ruling, having taken a closer look at the Microsoft trademark policy, let us now compare it with that of Google.

Microsoft has indicated that the change will bring their trademark policies in line with prevalent industry standards, in effect, with Google. To an extent, this is correct, though some differences are still there in how the two functionally handle trademark related complaints. Here aspects related to the cross-network compatibility need to be kept in mind in terms of the functional differences and basic similarities that exist between adCenter & AdWords trademark policy implementations.

Usage of trademarks in ads: You’re not allowed to use trademarks in ad text on any of the two networks except for limited fair usage conditions that Google and Microsoft mention on their sites.

Ad display URLs: Google doesn’t take into consideration the display URL for any trademark complaints. Microsoft does, and states it will investigate them, which means if you opt to import the AdWords trademark ad groups as they are into adCenter, they might well be liable to trademark scrutiny. Your ads will face scrutiny if a competitor decides to file a complaint.

We shall further be comparing Google and Microsoft trademark policies in the next post.

It may be that you are a busy search agency with several accounts to set up before the much talked about alliance between Yahoo! and Microsoft Search takes off later this year. Either way, it is understandable that you wish to save yourself from climbing the same mountain more than once.

Google Adsheet Import Tool

If that is the case, you may try out Google Adsheet Import Tool from Microsoft Advertising. It is said to be quite handy. Included with the free adCenter Desktop tool, you can download it for your benefit. If you haven’t done it so far, here is a brief guide to the process, which is actually fairly simple.

Step 1 is to export your Google account utilizing Google Adwords Editor Tool, which is there in the form of a CSV file. Step 2 is to import the particular file utilizing your adCenter Desktop Tool.

When some of you will click on the link and arrive at the page, at the first of glance of it, they might think, “It cannot be that easy!” Well, to an extent, you’re right. It’s indeed not! First, if you happen to import it improperly you may lose a considerable proportion of your deep links.

Next, there are certain fundamental differences that exist between adCenter and Adwords, which can make your accounts quite ineffective if you fail to address them. What you need is a correct approach so as to successfully convert your accounts, and follow the right practices, mapping subtle differences between both adCenter & Adwords accounts.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced rollout of a new Quality Score feature within adCenter to give advertisers feedback on their keyword/s performance – somewhat similar to Google’s Quality Score. According to Microsoft, scores won’t directly influence the way ads get ranked, but rather reflect how well they are doing in the marketplace.

Finer aspects of new Quality Score feature

As is known, Google employs the quality score for determining cost-per-click and ranking.
Microsoft’s Quality Score will display one number (1 through 10 – for each match type) at the respective keyword level. Advertisers can check sub-scores for working out landing page relevance, landing page user experience, and keyword relevance – a measure of how pertinent advertiser’s key term is, compared to others opting for the same key term.

It will indicate three possible scores, whereas relevance and user experience of a landing page will suggest how relevant it’s to the query, and whether it can meet relevance as well as quality guidelines. Besides considering the above metrics, Google also makes use of historical click-through rate for the key term and the account as a whole. It considers the keyword’s relevance to the ads and geographic performance apart from other non-specified ‘relevance factors’.

In the previous post, we have checked when and how daily budget suits for who are going to make more frequent changes – for contingencies like increased demand during a time-bound promotional campaign. There are certain advantages of this as actual spend could be higher or lower than the daily limit, which you can then keep on changing.

Bear in mind the fact that your monthly spend won’t exceed the monthly budget limit, It’s a good option if there aren’t going to be too many changes to your budget. Here are  a few aspects to keep in mind:  

• You may opt for this option if you wish to make a rather tight budget stretch a whole month or if you are not in a position to monitor the account frequently. When you utilize this particular budget type, Microsoft adCenter will automatically adjust it as time goes on.
• This option also means that adCenter will estimate the number of impressions that can occur to divide your budget all through the month. This reduces the likelihood that it will be depleted before the month is over, and helps prevent a campaign from grinding to a halt automatically.
• For a more accurate budget division across the month, your ads might not be pushed for each and every search query. The ads get discreetly spread out across the month. Your campaign’s adjusted daily budget is roughly calculated by dividing the monthly balance by the remaining number of days in that month.
• If your campaign’s adjusted budget limit is met, all ad groups in it are paused at about 105% of the day’s budget. Ads in the campaign won’t appear till the next day. Such adjustments are part of an exercise to divide your monthly budget more evenly. This means your ads may not be run on all search results pages, or only a few times in the day.  Your campaign might be stopped if the budget is set too low for the traffic flow your keywords are creating.
• It also compensates for days on which ads are intentionally paused. For instance, if you’ve ads set to be shown only on weekdays, the feature will recognize the paused days to spend at a higher rate to make up  for those days. If you’ve set incremental bids for certain days or geographical locations, the actual spend for your campaign could be less than the estimates displayed on the Pricing page.
• When you choose ‘Spend budget until depleted’ option, adCenter won’t adjust it, or won’t even set any daily cap. Choose this particular option if you are looking to maximize impressions and are monitoring a campaign all through the month.
• Microsoft Advertising adCenter won’t prorate your budget. For instance, if a budget is set up for $1,000 halfway through the month, your campaign carries on until spending for the month will reach $1,000. If you are keen to continue your ads in spite of budget constraints, you may increase your campaign budget amount for the month.

 Broadly, Microsoft search ad strategy is devised on basis of a pay per click cost model. In a PPC model, a user determines his or her base bid. It is essentially the maximum amount the former is ready to pay when someone happens to click on the ad.

It is important to note that the search ad customer is not charged more than the base bid and thus pay even end up paying less. Even a marginally higher amount than the next higher bid means that your ad is going to get displayed such is the search advertising user model.

Setting a Budget  

1. When you launch a new campaign, you must choose a budget. You are also allowed to modify it for an ongoing campaign. You can set a budget according to your needs.
2. By working out your spending limits, you can then put a tab on your search ad spend. There is also the flexibility of managing separate budgets on monthly basis for individual campaigns with Microsoft adCenter.
3. To set a budget for each ad group independently, create a separate campaign for each group. You can easily modify your budget, if you follow certain pre-conditions.
4. The budget that you set should ideally be an amount you ‘re very much comfortable with. Over a period of time, you can find out whether it’s adequate to get the desired results or you need to reallocate resources.
5.  While setting the budget limit, keep in mind the fact that each campaign needs to have a separate provision for easier management. Prior to submitting your ad campaign, you are required to set your campaign budget amount and choose a budget option.
6. You can modify the budget option or amount at any given time. Also, remember that the cost of a click gets deducted from a campaign budget after a user clicks on your advertisement.
7. An ad display is affected by your campaign budget limits, to an extent. So you need to be careful while selecting the budgeting options. They offer you flexibility and control over your allocation.
8. Daily budget is preferable if you want to make frequent changes – for instance, making up for increased demand because of a promotional campaign. Set the maximum limit to your budget that you wish to spend daily, apart ion from a monthly budget.
9. The actual spend on daily basis could be lower or higher than the limit. The monthly spend however, will not exceed your monthly budget, which is a perfect option if there are not going to be frequent changes to your budget.

 In the next post, we shall know examine aspects related to setting a budget per month and how you can divide it across the month.

A new powerful platform for search campaigns

There is a lot of buzz in the search marketplace, as search ad inventory from Microsoft, Yahoo! and their respective partners gets combined into a stronger unified entity. The former will manage the technology platforms, which deliver the algorithmic as well as paid search results, whereas Yahoo! will support advertisers, SEO and SEM agencies on exclusive basis. In addition, adCenter will act as the sole platform for all search campaigns.

It is important note that for users paying their Yahoo! search account with PayPal and eligible for the same in adCenter, re-entering the requisite details is mandatory, since it will not be carried over by default as part of the transition process. Those having a prepaid balance remaining from their earlier Yahoo! Search Marketing account, that amount may be refunded by Yahoo! or get credited to the new adCenter account, once the transition is complete.

A boost to your marketing efforts

• To boost your search advertising, the new platform has on offer several features like video tutorials, a set of tools designed for improved performance and efficiency plus unique targeting features to enjoy granular control of the marketing efforts.
• You can meet your geographical targeting goals by choosing countries/ regions, states/ provinces, and even metro areas/ cities where a majority of your audience is based.
• You have the option to precisely adjust demographic as well as age targeting in adCenter, and you can also select the time periods that you want your ads to display.
• Recognizing the fact that all clicks are not created equal, the new search entity looks to help users with your campaign’s ROI management.
• It automatically adjusts your click charges on basis of the performance of traffic from sources within the network. The assessment will help you get discounts on lower-performing traffic click charges.

Illustrating its user-friendliness, the site mentions: “To maximize your RoI of advertising spend, adCenter comes up with the sort of audience intelligence that let you reach the people who are actually spending money online, at the right opportunity and time. With help of it, you know exactly where and when all your potential customers are there to be easily accessed. You can find out the time they like going online. This will help you communicate with them when you’re sure your valued customers will be there keen to tune in.”

Importantly, you will pay for the clicks only after you actually receive them. You are not needed to prepay.

Keep the following things in mind while completing the transition

• For moving the campaigns, you can make use of a customized transition tool that you believe is appropriate for your advertising needs. This tool can be accessed in the ‘adCenter’ tab available within your Yahoo! account.
• During transitioning, respective search ad groups are so set as to distribute at the ‘default setting’. Your Yahoo! Search Marketing’s Network Distribution settings will not carry over into adCenter automatically.
• The new search network distribution feature will help you to be more precise about your ads’ display on all Yahoo! search and Bing networks as well as syndicated search partners, or only Yahoo! and Bing sites in the US and Canada.

Accounting for changed ad position

Many users have experienced that their ad position has changed even though they are bidding as usual. As an increasing number of Yahoo! advertisers shift to adCenter, there obviously will be more competitors, vigorously bidding on your industry related keywords. This is bound to affect your ad position.

Frequently monitor your bids to stay on top of any marked changes in this regard. Your ad’s position will be impacted by an increased bidding on your key terms and phrases. This means that you will need to adjust your bids accordingly for maintaining your desired position. Regularly review the results to meet your RoI goals.

No more separate bidding

Another noticeable change is that you cannot opt to show ads on Yahoo! and not Bing (or Bing and not Yahoo!). You will not be in a position to bid separately on just Yahoo! Search or just Bing. This is for the purpose of maximizing the reach opportunities and to give advertisers the added benefit of a vast marketplace through a combined platform.

Users can reach the audience of both on Bing and Yahoo! by managing a single account, thus simplifying your campaign management. This will also save time and energy.

Impact on adCenter budget

Certain users have found that their adCenter budget is consumed faster earlier in the month than it happens usually.

While evaluating your adCenter budgets, it’s vital to know that the auction has undergone a change with Yahoo! Search traffic’s introduction and greater advertiser competition. You will be required to increase your budget in keeping with the increased Yahoo! Search traffic volume. You can set a budget, which better reflects the amount you wish to spend. You obviously are in the best position to work out how much your business can afford to spend.

It is recommended that you adjust the monthly spend to about a third of your overall SEM (search engine marketing) budget. This will help ensure you won’t be missing out on valuable clicks and conversions. For instance, if your monthly budget is $1,000, your adCenter budget should be $333 per month, at least.

The Yahoo!-Microsoft Search Alliance is a joint initiative between the two search giants to create a better and more informed choice in the search domain for both consumers as well as advertisers.  After the transition, the former account will now only be in a read-only state, whereas adCenter arrives as the platform for managing your respective campaigns so that your search as well as content ads can reach users on Yahoo! Search, Bing etc.  It’s the one users need to manage.

Users can still sign, until December 31, in to their Search Marketing account of Yahoo! and transfer the data to Microsoft adCenter with help of the Transition Tool. Another option is to directly visit the adCenter, set up a personal account, and generate campaigns in it.

Global transition roadmap for the search alliance

It will still take time for Yahoo! for worldwide transition to search and advertising platform of Microsoft. Informing about the modalities and timelines of the search alliance, the official site notes: “We shall begin transitioning international markets next year (2011), with all customers and partners globally slated to be fully transitioned by early 2012. We shall give more details about it at a later date. If you have Search Marketing campaigns of Yahoo! in multiple markets, you should carry on using the platform to manage them for all markets barring North America.”

Steps post-transition to Microsoft adCenter

The adCenter is the one platform for serving ads on Bing, Yahoo! Search and partner websites in the US and Canada. It is essential to grasp how the two differ in functionalities and other generic features that they offer. For this a comparison guide from Microsoft adCenter will come in handy.

For example, when you switch your campaigns to adCenter, it is necessary to reset your campaign targeting with adCenter targeting options. With it, you can focus on your target audience based on factors like location and demographics. Accordingly, you can focus your energies on specific days of the week and a time slot.

Just after the transition, you’ll also be prompted to choose an overall distribution channel, and the default setting will not be targeting any particular location.
The adCenter won’t be making any assumptions about a user’s business and its targeting priorities. Ensure to establish respective targeting settings and boost the bids to get traction in today’s competitive marketplace.

Campaign data transition process

For those left behind,  Microsoft ‘s Ricky Poole serves a timely reminder  in a public posting: “Given the busy time of year this is, both professionally and personally, there is something you are supposed to do, but haven’t yet! With all of the hustle and bustle of holiday season, I wished to remind any of users in the US and Canada, who may have Yahoo! Search Marketing campaigns.”

The transition tool is slated to close on January 5, 2011. Taking this into account, the company has come out with a transition overview for small businesses. Those who will fail to transition their PPC accounts to adCenter from Yahoo! will be needed to do the same manually through exporting and importing their campaigns after 5th of the next month.

The company has prepared an elaborate transition checklist that smaller businesses are required to review, to help make sure that they are well prepared for completing a hassle free transition from Yahoo! Search Marketing to Microsoft adCenter. It has also released a detailed feature comparison guide, so that they are able to familiarize themselves with capabilities and other important features of adCenter.

Steps for smooth transition of Yahoo! account to adCenter

Users can create a new adCenter account, or indicate that they already have one, which they will continue to use. They can make use of the transition tool for copying Yahoo! Search Marketing campaigns onto adCenter.

Once the process is done, the new adCenter account will get active and the existing campaigns will continue to retain the same status (paused or active) as within respective Yahoo! account, so users may be required to un pause the campaigns to start advertising on Yahoo! Search, Bing and partner sites.

Grasp differences between two setups

Users will also be required to download a tool, namely Microsoft Silverlight, which will let them check and address differences between adCenter campaign and Yahoo! Search Marketing setups. Installing Silverlight will make the process easier to execute and at no additional cost to users.

Once they log into their Yahoo! Search Marketing account, they will be directed to a new tab called ‘adCenter’ automatically. They can go through the Compatibility Report to fix incompatibilities between ongoing Yahoo! campaigns and the adCenter platform prior to the transition.

It comprises a number of vital changes that emphasize on providing users with greater business insight, improved campaign management and added convenience. Here’s a quick features for the latest upgrade:

1. A report on search campaign change history: Find out the vital clues to future actions through past ones like the first time you attempted a new keyword. You can get answers to such important questions with the findings of this crucial report. It will track the vital change history for search accounts, campaigns, ads, ad groups, and keywords.
2. Import/export improvements: You can export an elaborate Excel spreadsheet containing campaign details. This will make bulk editing simpler. You can re-import the same into adCenter. Formats remain consistent between the DesktopBeta and adCenter UI. You may save and also restart an incomplete or pending import process at any given time.
3. Improved search network distribution: A user can enjoy control over where search ads get displayed, and will be in a position to choose search ad network distribution just at the ad group level. You may opt to display on Yahoo! Search as well as Bing – on partner platforms exclusively – or on the whole search network (the default setting). For existing Yahoo! advertisers, it is still necessary to manage Yahoo! Search Marketing account till ad serving is fully transitioned to adCenter.
4. Improved site exclusion: You can make use of the enhanced site exclusion feature for your search ads to designate – at both the campaign and ad group level – up to 500 websites where you do not wish to display search ads. By conveniently managing the websites on which your ads won’t be displayed, your paid search campaigns’ ROI will improve.
5. Budget improvements: This updated feature will allow you to plan your campaign budget better as you are ensured of a more consistent daily spend. It will thus be much closer to your original allocation. If you’ve marked a low budget in anticipation of overspending, you may now increase it so that it better reflects the actual amount you wish to spend.
6. Precise campaign analytics: The campaign analytics features will offer details of visitor activity on your site arising out of paid search campaigns. That consists of advertising cost and visitor-related data like conversions, the revenue generated from them etc. The reports cover additional information like your site traffic sources and segmentation by attributes like gender, geographical location and age group.

The UI and API feature updates are now available. Many of these are designed specifically to draw you the most from search advertising spend.