Ad Copy, Quality Top Priority in Yahoo Panama

SEATTLE, WA — 02/13/2007 — Portent Interactive conducted an informal test during the first week of Yahoo’s new Panama paid search ranking algorithm. The results show that high quality ad copy and ads that make people click are higher priority than ever.

Until recently, pay-per-click ads on Yahoo’s ad network were ranked according to bid amount. The highest bid always achieved the number one spot. Not any more.

Yahoo’s new algorithm weighs the clickthru rate and overall quality of each ad, as well as the bid amount. So, ads that receive more clicks and contain better copy have a chance to outrank ads with higher bids.

Portent’s test bears that out: During their one-week evaluation, ads consistently moved up in the sponsored ad column. In some cases, cost per click went down at the same time. In other cases, the cost per click stayed the same.

The test shows conclusively that well-written ads are more important than ever. It also shows that the A/B ad testing smart practitioners have used for years on Google Adwords is now equally important on Yahoo.

Read the full report on Portent’s blog, Conversation Marketing.

Portent Interactive is a Yahoo Search Marketing Ambassador.

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