The Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance teams were recently invited to present at the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) meetings in San Francisco (7/26) and New York City (8/2). We all enjoyed great food (loved the bacon-wrapped dates, antipasti!), wine and beer before the commencement of the content.
Once we got started, myself and Rob Wilk (National Director, Search Optimization and Strategy, Yahoo!) ran through the vision for the Search Alliance, highlighting key feature differences between Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft Advertising adCenter, and outlined how we feel the deal will unlock significant value for both advertisers and consumers. We also walked through the expected timeline of the transition, covering how Bing would begin to power organic results on Yahoo! (complete as of the publishing of this post), and the upcoming paid search transition, which will allow advertisers to advertise on Yahoo! Search and Bing with one ad buy through adCenter.
As always, we like to leave plenty of time for a robust Q&A with the audience. It is always refreshing to hear perspectives and feedback from all kinds of stakeholders who have skin in the search business.
In the foggy city, we were joined on a panel by Chris Sanger, Director of Product Management at Yahoo!, Johann Garcia, Product Manager, Microsoft Advertising adCenter, and Charlie Longfellow, Senior Manager, Account Management. Chris fielded the lion’s share of product-related questions from a mix of about sixty SEM, SEO, affiliate marketers and other folks in the room. The panel was moderated by Mark Fiske from the Gap.
At Microsoft offices in the vibrant heart of New York City, we took questions on the fly during our presentation. The audience of ninety-nine was lively and upbeat, with more references to Jersey Shore than we expected! Taline Elmekjin and Teresa Elliott from Microsoft’s Search Alliance team were also on hand to engage with our audience after the formal Q&A was over.
Two top questions from coast-to-coast included:
1. Q: What search ad distribution controls will be available after the transition in adCenter?
A: We are currently developing new adCenter features that will help you control search ads distribution in the new unified search marketplace across Yahoo! and Microsoft sites. The new features coming soon to adCenter will allow you to display search ads on the bundle of Yahoo! and Microsoft properties exclusively, on partner sites exclusively, or on the entire combined network (which is the default setting). In addition, you’ll be able to indicate domains and sub domains that you’d like to exclude at both the ad group and campaign levels. These search ad distribution controls are currently in development for a future adCenter upgrade.
2. Q: Will you be helping us with our organic search optimization efforts pre-transition?
A: Bing’s website provides a robust set of materials on search engine optimization (SEO). An SEO webmaster’s toolbox can be found at http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmasters/. It provides webmasters with valuable information on organizing web site content and using non-paying methods, to help improve your site’s ranking in search engine results. We also recommend reviewing the topic Guidelines for successful indexing.
Secondly, The free SEO Toolkit contains detailed analysis and search engine friendly suggestions. Start with the free download, review your website, and make changes fast. Finally, for more information, visit Bing Webmaster Center Help. Follow these steps to search:
- Open the Bing Webmaster Center Help page.
- Search for information about indexing using the search function at left, or browse the topics provided.
Thanks to SEMPO for inviting us to speak, and to all of our attendees who made these two events such a positive experience.
For more information on the Yahoo!/Microsoft partnership, check out the Search Alliance video.
Michael Elmgreen – Account Executive, Search Agency Sales @michaelelmgreen
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