Sponsored or Local Sponsored Search?

Which is better for me?

[starboy]

I've been running a successful local AdWords campaign for my mom and pop restaurant. I decided to supplement that campaign with a new Local Sponsored Search campaign on Yahoo using the same KWs but the number of clicks and CTR I've been getting have been much poorer than they were on Google.

Is this typical? Should I go with Yahoo's regular (not Local) sponsored search instead?

[eWhisper]

They're different, and there are cases for using both at once for a local business.

Yahoo Local
1. Yahoo Local does not allow geographic keywords (it uses user data and explicit search to match your area).
2. It does not allow for custom titles for each keyword, which often lowers CTR.
3. You can't see placement, other than the bid for number 1, in their tools.
4. No minimum monthly spend - very good for small businesses who might only spend $10-15 a month.

Yahoo Local is nice for reaching people on Yahoo who use explicit geographies in their search, have a Yahoo account (and are logged in), or are in an area where there are a lot of geographic keywords being used which are hard to track down.

Yahoo Search Marketing
1. Must use geographic search terms in the query. This often lowers inventory as many people don't use explicit regions in a search.
2. Because you must use geographic keywords, you'll have a lot of keywords with little search volume and could have issues getting them all approved by YSM.
2. Ability to write a custom ad per keyword will give you a higher CTR.
3. Minimum monthly spend.

YSM is good for those in geographic areas that receive a lot of search volume with geo keywords.

Yahoo really doesn't have a true alternate to Google's IP targeting. Sometimes, it takes using both of their products to get decent volume for a local business.