Google AdSense vs. Yahoo Pub Network

[Buzliteyear]

I was accepted into YPN last week and it has been interesting comparing and contrasting AdSense vs. YPN.

I consider myself a very loyal AdSense guy and I will continue to be, but YPN gives you a lot of reason to like them.

While AdSense is very quiet about their program, YPN actually gives you phone numbers and invites you to call with problems.

YPN EPC, on average, has been significantly higher than G, but their ad targeting doesn't compare to G which obvioulsy results in lower CTR and eCPM. In their defense, though, it is still in Beta

YPN gives you the option of doing your own targeting which is nice, but my site is so niche that I can't get the same good ads I get with G.

All in all, I think the competition will be good for all of us, including the advertisers.

Who knows what this will be five or ten years from now, so let's enjoy it while we have it.

Cheers.

[EVOrange]

I had pretty much the same experience. Some minor issues with good support, phone calls returned, etc., but could not get relevant ads. Even with the site targeting offered recently, could not target my "niche" (though it's a pretty broad niche). Overall, the dismal ctr forced me to abandon the beta after nearly a month.
Coincidental to my testing the system, Yahoo lost my site for the general industry term. Asked the tech support guy about it, he said he looked into it, agreed that my site should certainly be there for the term, then...surprise, suggested I could use the paid inclusion option.

As if.

EVO

[Buzliteyear]

EVO,

What I did was this.

A while back in an effort to correct a Smart Pricing wave, I removed AdSense from pages with low performance.

I am in the process of putting YPN on all of those pages. Right now I am on a swing where I am getting good EPC on my site. When Smart Pricing hits again, I will start slowly replacing AdSense Ads with YPN ads and see how it goes.

[EVOrange]

Funny enough Buzz, when I took AdSense off the pages where I tested YPN, removing 8-10k impressions per day, my eCPM nearly doubled and ctr jumped also.
I know there are conflicting opinions on it, but for me, less was better.
I have since launched a brand new version of my site and so all the old data is no longer relevant, but there is certainly a point where the more ads that are shown, the returns diminish. At least in my sector.

EVO

[webnoob]

facts about yahoo -

- better support, you can speak to a real person if you need help.
- more publisher options, you can even pick what type of ads appear (ad targeting categories).
- want something added? vote on it, they listen and will add if it people seemed interested.. when was the last time google asked us what we wanted to see in adsense?
- the list goes on..

yahoo pay rate is higher than google's (not a fact) but my experience..

right now i am slowly moving ads from adsense to yahoo as yahoo's targetting improves.

u decide..

[EVOrange]

To each his own Webnoob. It didn't work that way for my site.
Yes, there was good support. Yes, they listened. I said several times to allow me the ability to stipulate what my site was about in general terms and feed me those ads instead of PSA's, then when they were better targeted, do that. Still, when it did come, the options for me were not good enough.
As I said to them when they called for feedback(another plus), I do want them to succeed and I hope they do, but in the beta, it was costing me dearly.

EVO