Has anyone had good luck with Yahoo Sponsor Listings?

[alex_cross]

Has anyone had good luck with Yahoo Sponsor Listings?

[4crests]

I have had a sponsored listing for a little over a year. It usually pays for itself each month, but not much more. I keep it though for other benefits, like brand recognition, etc.

[alex_cross]

Thanks. That is what I thought. Can you set it up so that it will automatically run each month or do you have to go in and restart it?

Has it helped you be be one of the more "Popular" sites?

[4crests]

it does run automatically. it just comes off my credit card each month.

Yes, i think it has helped me, and i will keep it. But, don't expect an immediate return of your investment.

[alex_cross]

It is only $25? No big deal. Do you run it in more than one category?

[4crests]

hey, that's a good price. mine was $100. i only run it in one category.

[skibum]

We use it for one CRM company, $100.00/month and it seems to generate about 200 clicks/month. It's fairly cheap as far as placements go.

OTOH, has anyone had success getting a YAHOO! rep to respond to inquiries about sponsored listings that cost more than $300.00/month?

We've inquired numerous times and never gotten a reply.

[2_much]

- I've got a few sites that are sponsored and they seem to pay for themselves. They don't get much traffic but it is qualified traffic - the people that come from there seem to buy.

- No, they don't help to make a site popular.

- I've had luck in the past talking to someone about more expensive categories. The rep I used to speak with has been fired since.

[Hunter]

I've had luck in the past talking to someone about more expensive categories. The rep I used to speak with has been fired since.

Hope those two are not related 2_much... Hehe

[alex_cross]

I have a rep, but she does not handle that part.

[Hunter]

Alex you may want to make sure that your category does not have more than one page of sponsored listings. That may be why they are only charging $25 within your category...I have seen that in the past.

[alex_cross]

They do have more than one page. It is very competitive. Health that is. Do I eventually rotate to the top?

[Hunter]

I don't know if they rotate, I would just keep an eye on them for a few weeks and see if they move. If they remain stationary there is certainly a big difference between appearing on the first page or the second and that may explain the "discounted rate".

[Hunter]

I just watched them and they do rotate. I also found their sponser FAC:

[help.yahoo.com...]

[cyan_corp]

Hello everyone
If anyone is dealing with Yahoo UK--I have had some luck albeit indirectly.
I am bidding on words on Espotting and seem to be highly ranked on my words. On the specific word where I am in the top 3 has made me part of the sponsored listings in Yahoo UK.
So Espotting are in partnership with Yahoo UK-thats my summation from this anyway?!

Thanks

later then...

[akogo]

I think the cheaper fees are for the least popular categories. Also, you'll be listed only on the category pages not the search pages (which you'll need to bid on Overture to be on).

For those who are sponsors, did the wording of your listing change? Did you get reassigned to another category? Were you able to distinguish between traffic coming from your sponsor listing and your regular alphabetical listing?

[2_much]

Hi Akogo:

1. The listing doesn't change, it remains the same

2. Most sites were left in the same category. I had a couple of sites that were moved when we payed for them to be sponsored, to more relevant categories.

3. We're unable to distinguish where the traffic's coming from.

Hope this helps.

[alex_cross]

Just use a tracking script.

[akogo]

alex_cross,

Call you explain how this would be done on a Sponser vs. Regular listing of your site if the referral urls for both coming from Yahoo! are indistinguishable to start out with?

Akogo

[alex_cross]

I have a tracking script that is very similar to my domain which can tell me the number of visitors, what they purchased and the ROI.

[akogo]

alex_cross,

Can it tell the difference between a Sponsor listing and a alphabetical site listing?

Akogo

[alex_cross]

I can assign a new "URL?" or tracking script to any listing I wish. So, yes, it can tell the difference. I have about 5,000 Overture terms and I use it for each one. It is also great for affiliate programs.

[akogo]

alex_cross,

Looks like we are not thinking about the same thing... I'm thinking about the Sponsor Listings on Yahoo! category pages. It seems like your are thinking about Sponsor Matches on Yahoo! search result pages.

Akogo

[alex_cross]

"Can it tell the difference between a Sponsor listing and a alphabetical site listing?"

If you do a search for "Health" or drill down by clicking until you reach the "Health" listings that would be the same thing and thus have the same URL. If you add a "Sponsored Listing", where you have to pay each month, that would be another "URL" that you could use.

[akogo]

2_much

"We're unable to distinguish where the traffic's coming from."

Did the referrer url look the same for both the Sponsor link and the regular link?

Akogo

[2_much]

alex_cross, i don't think it's possible to add a different URL. You can only sponsor the URL that is already listed - it's not possible to make changes to it.

Therefore it's not possible to track the traffic coming from Yahoo straight as opposed to Yahoo Sponsored.

[alex_cross]

Wrong. I do it already. Do you think I am making it up? The url takes you to the same location. Yahoo does not care that it is not www.widgets.com or www.widgets.com/cgi-bin-341-adx-html.

[akogo]

alex_cross,

This is driving me nuts! Can you sticky mail me where on Yahoo! is your Sponsor Listing located?

Akogo

[akogo]

alex_cross,

Do you have a Sponsor Listing for the homepage you give in your User Profile? I can't seem to find it listed in the Yahoo! directory. It seems to only come up on the Google Web Pages Search Results. Do you have a different site located on Yahoo!'s category pages? From what I understand, you can't have a "Sponsor Listing" until you are in the directory. You can get a "Sponsor Matches" listing if you bid at Overture.

Akogo

[alex_cross]

I have about 12 sites. They are not all in the directory yet, but I am using some of them as sponsored listings. Maybe I just have a good Yahoo rep. All you need to tell them is that you are using your original domain that is in the directory and a tracking script to monitor visitors. It is simple. Just ask.