Yahoo Launches Quality Based Pricing for their Content Match Product

Why is Yahoo Search Marketing introducing Quality Based Pricing for their Content Match product? Is Yahoo Search Marketing struggling to get advertisers to use their Content Match product? If so, why? And will this new Quality Based Pricing drive more advertisers to use the Content Match product? Before we delve into those questions, let's do a quick overview of the Quality Based Pricing and Content Match product.

The new Quality Based Pricing is an initiative by Yahoo Search Marketing to draw more advertisers into using their Content Match product. The Content Match product is a distribution network of independent sites that display Yahoo Search Marketing ads for a percentage of the click fee. This is known as Yahoo's Partner Network. The new quality based Content Match pricing is now going to be "based on conversion rates and other measurements of the ability to deliver more interested and valuable customers to you from particular distribution partner sites." Yahoo is saying that they will "help enhance the quality, potentially reduce the cost and increase the value of traffic to you." Is this the answer?

Is Yahoo Search Marketing struggling to get advertisers to use their Content Match product?

Rolling out this new pricing model says to me that, "Yes, Yahoo is struggling to get advertisers to use their Content Match product." But is this new pricing model the answer? No. The real solution to getting you more targeted traffic lies in how Yahoo targets their ads on Partner Network sites. The reason we do not use Content Match with out clients is because Yahoo's technology can not properly place ads alongside relevant content. We don't see the value in having an ad targeting "small blue widgets" showing up alongside content for "large pink gizmos." There is also no value paying a few pennies less for this poorly targeted ad. So no, this new Quality Based Pricing is not the answer we are looking for. Better targeting is, and until Yahoo implements this or allows us more flexibility with their Partner Network, we will not be using the Content Match product.

In a previous blog post I applauded Yahoo when they introduced their Panama Update, which included ranking based on price, and more important, ad quality. Yahoo took another step in the right direction when they allowed for separate Content Match bids which allowed the advertiser to bid less on these Content Match sites. The next steps in improving the Content Match product should be better targeting and allowing the advertiser the opportunity to pick individual sites with the Partner Network to advertise on.