Yahoo! Panama - sorry "New Sponsored Search" - Rolling out in Europe

In my annual leave absence, Yahoo! has quietly begun rolling out its New Sponsored Search system across Europe. Whilst it's been available for some time to US advertisers, we at this side of the pond have had to wait quite a bit longer to get our paws on the new interface. At this point Yahoo are migrating priority accounts only, with a staggered roll-out of all accounts scheduled for the next few weeks.

Early results from the US have been very good for Panama, not just in terms of ease of management but also in terms of straight results comparison; this had led some "cynics" to suggest the old system had some reporting issues, especially when it comes to CTR. I have always believe Yahoo under-reported CTR (or over-reported impressions) so this comes as no surprise to me.

So what difference am I expecting Panama to make to my everyday existence? Well, here are what I feel are the main benefits of the new system:

• More intuitive Interface - A completely redesigned, easy-to-navigate control panel will help you see what's working and what's not. Making changes will also be much easier, and quicker, so you can act on what you see and improve results.
• Fast Ad Activation - On the old system, it could take up to 5 days for your new ads to go live. With Panama, most new ads will go online within minutes.
• Ad Testing - With the old system, you could only show on advert per keyword. With Panama, you can easily test multiple versions of an ad to find the message that works best in terms of CTR and, if using Yahoo conversion tracking, conversions.
• Geo-Targeting - Display your ads broadly or narrow your geographic distribution to better target your customers, customize your ads and control your costs.
• Campaign Budgeting, Forecasting and Scheduling - With the old system, you could only apply budgets at account level. Now you can create, budget and schedule individual advertising campaigns for greater control over your strategy and spending. You can also review forecasts of your potential clicks based on your bids and budget and see how many clicks you're leaving to your competitors.
• Visibility - Understand how well your ads are performing relative to your competitors with the new Quality Index displayed for each ad. You'll also see the bid range necessary for premium placement at the top of the search results page.