Like many other paid search marketers I received the Terms and Conditions update email from Yahoo on Monday.
I have to admit, I didn’t read it at first, but then seeing other comments I felt I should take a second look.
The complete Yahoo “Master Terms and Conditions and Program Terms” can be found here.
The “SPONSORED SEARCH and CONTENT MATCH® PROGRAM TERM” is where the concern is.
Section 3: “Accordingly, you expressly agree that we may also: (i) create ads, (ii) add and/or remove keywords, and/or (iii) optimize your account(s). We will notify you via email of such changes made to your account(s), and can also include a spreadsheet of such changes upon your written request.”
There is so much wrong with that statement. Here is my response:
Create Ads: Yahoo is going to create ads for me? Really? Ad rules are understandable, but I do not want you, Yahoo, creating ads for me. You do not know my goals, my mission, or my purpose. You do not know my customer or my customer’s mind set. Plus, I have seen your work.
Add and/or Remove Keywords: I could live with “the removing” of keywords, especially if they are too broad or not related to ads. However, “the adding” is a big problem for me. I do not want anyone adding keywords, thus more cost, to my campaigns. I especially do not want anyone adding anything to my account, who is unfamiliar with my objectives.
Optimize your account: Do not optimize my account. If you feel my account performs poorly, then so be it. I will listen to any suggestions or recommendations. I welcome them. But let me decide if I want to take those suggestions. You do not make those decisions for me
I have tried many times to let Yahoo “optimize” campaigns for me. Those results are filled with misspellings, bad links, and clearly written by someone who did not take the time to understand the business goals.
There is a reason paid search marketers are not spending our pay-per-click money with Yahoo. It’s because the product and the customer service is not high quality. Especially, not the high quality that we have come accustomed to.
More From John Ellis
- Pay-Per-Click Tip: It’s not about the keywords
- I’m going to take my talents to South Beach
- 3 Steps to Keyword Success - PPC Video of the week
Tags: Pay Per Click, PPC, Yahoo
January 6th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Holy Crap! I’m glad someone out there reads the boilerplate sneaky business.
January 6th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I love the fact that they completely ignore the conflict of interest resulting from this. Dugg!
January 9th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Really? Seriously? Thanks for actually reading this and sharing John!
I am so done with Yahoo - their advanced match burned me, I can’t imagine what this will do.
January 12th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Now I don’t feel so bad having pulled my business from them over the past year - they haven’t performed as well as the other boys anyway.
Still - a bad business move on their part!