TriMark Solutions April Event Blog #4 discusses some of the many differences between Yahoo! vs. Google PPC Advertising, including benefits and weaknesses of each.
Google is widely renowned as THE place to advertise for PPC marketing. However, Yahoo! is not a bad choice either. While Google owns about 72-78% of all online searches, Yahoo! is the next closest, at around 17-20%. Smart money would say that Google is the best choice for targeting a PPC campaign, but with more online searches comes more competition for keywords and ad placement, with higher keyword pricing and bids.
To start this off, we will list the shared characteristics which Yahoo! & Google both have in common.
• Presents users with relevant advertisements at the exact moment they are searching for them.
• Uses keywords defined by the campaign creator to systematically choose when, where, and how often to show ads.
• Allows advertisers to bid on keywords, creating the lowest cost at the highest value for their advertising dollars.
• Allows advertisers to add negative keywords which block the ad from being shown if present in the user’s search query.
For the user, Yahoo! and Google ads are essentially the same. Users see a relevant advertisement shown based on their search query, click on the ad, and are then taken to a page designed specifically for the product they searched for.
Now Let’s Track the Differences between Yahoo! & Google PPC Advertising (and for fun, we will keep score):
• No campaign editing software for Yahoo! PPC. Google has the AdWords Editor, which is a very useful and powerful campaign editing tool. (Google 1, Yahoo! 0)
• Yahoo allows for more characters within the PPC advertisement headline. Google only allows 25 characters, while Yahoo! is around 35. (Google 1, Yahoo! 1)
• Yahoo! allows up to 500 negative keywords per ad group. Google allows over 5,000. (Google 2, Yahoo! 1)
• As mentioned before, Google holds 70+% of all online searches, Yahoo! only about 18%. (Google 3, Yahoo! 1)
• Google provides an average ad position on the Ad Group level. In Yahoo!, you must view the average ad position on the keyword level. This is not a huge deal, although it can be annoying for people who manage multiple client accounts. (Google 4, Yahoo! 1)
• Yahoo provides specific demographic search options, including Age & Gender specifications. Google does not. This seems like it could be a very inaccurate function, because without a survey submission, there really is no way to tell the age or sex of the person doing the searches. But this is a unique option, Yahoo! gets an A for effort. (Google 4, Yahoo! 2)
• Google provides an Automatic Search Query Report. Yahoo!’s reporting is not as automatic or user friendly. (Google 5, Yahoo! 2)
• Google allows custom shapes in Geo-targeting mapping options. In Yahoo!, you are only able to Geo-target via city or zip code. (Google 6, Yahoo! 2)
• Yahoo Representatives are helpful, knowledgeable, and very easy to get on the phone. Google Reps are also very useful, but getting to actually speak to them can sometimes be a task. (Google 6, Yahoo! 3)
• Advertisers can take the Google AdWords Exam to become Google AdWords Qualified Professionals. Yahoo! ended their certification program, Yahoo! Ambassadors, a little while back. Being a certified PPC individual helps build trust and credibility in the eyes of potential customers, and clients, Google wins this one. (Google 7, Yahoo! 3)
In a game to 10, Google wins with an overwhelming victory. Yahoo! certainly has its benefits, but Google is preferred by most PPC professionals and businesses. Out of our over 200 current clients, only a handful have opted into Yahoo! PPC advertising (and those are usually the clients who had been seeing great success in Google AdWords as well).
I hope this shed a bit of light on your understanding of Yahoo! vs. Google Paid Advertising. Please share your thoughts, and check back with us this week, as we continue to discuss effective PPC strategies for building and maintaining successful and profitable PPC marketing campaigns.
The TriMark Solutions April Blogging Event continues Friday, April 16. Come back and see us!
