Overture has announced that from February 8th sponsored results on Yahoo! will be streamlined to make them easier for customers to read. The new ad style is very similar to Google’s. We have a copy of Overture’s email to all their advertisers, informing them of the change.
Dear Advertiser,
A new look is coming to the Yahoo! search results pages that will translate into more clicks for your listings. On February 8th, Yahoo! will introduce a streamlined design that will make the search results displayed on Yahoo! even easier for consumers to read. Our research has shown that by improving the search experience in this way, advertisers can generally expect to see an increase in clicks, while maintaining their conversion rates.
How this change impacts your listings:
- Yahoo! will display shorter descriptions for Sponsored Search listings
- You don’t have to make any changes to your listings; they’ll be automatically shortened for you when displayed on Yahoo!
- If you’d like to optimise your listings for Yahoo!,begin your description with one short sentence that includes your keyword and focuses on your most important information in the first 70 characters
- Over time, we will fine tune the exact character count that we believe works best for advertisers and search users
Yahoo! is taking this step to improve the search experience for its users. By continuously focusing on delivering highly relevant search results in a user-friendly format, Yahoo! also gives you the best possible platform for reaching customers interested in what your business provides.
Best Regards,
Overture UK
The new ad format will be very similar to what Google currently hosts, which is why most advertisers are welcoming the change. However, for those advertisers who took the time to meticulously craft descriptions to differentiate their listings, this change will probably mean them having to scrap their hard work and go back to the drawing board. How these changes affect Overture’s conversion rates and click through rates will be the ultimate evidence of their effectiveness.
Google changes ad format too
Surprisingly enough, Google has chosen the exact same time to start testing longer ad formats. Which format stays will be determined by consumer reactions to the new ad style. In the meantime, advertisers will have to play and watch!
