Yahoo: Minimum bid price changes

The minimum bid price for search ads on Yahoo is changing, according to a recent post on their Search Marketing blog.

by Helen Leggatt

By using comparisons with auction houses such as eBay and Sotheby’s, the Yahoo Search Marketing team recently posted an explanation of an update to the way in which they will set minimum bids on some keywords.

Instead of all minimum bids being fixed at $0.10, they will be set based on ad relevance, the number of bidders and bid amounts. While this could lead to higher minimum bids, it could also lead to bids below $0.10.

The minimum bid update brings Yahoo more in line with Google who introduced similar changes in 2005. A point of difference is that Yahoo will notify advertisers when their bids are about to fall below the minimum bid, and give them a day or so to make any changes.

Yahoo’s Search Marketing blog post also gives advice on how best to prepare for the upcoming changes, including getting to know keywords and their value, improving ad quality and learning about updates to the account interface.