The Microsoft/Yahoo Search Alliance is finally about to take place. Initially it’ll be a test being rolled out mid Jan. According to Microsoft we should expect to see a 10% increase in Bing traffic. As well as start of the Alliance, we’ll start to see new options available for targeting. Language and location targeting replaces the old Language and Markets options.

The official statement can be seen below:

Dear All,

With the advent of a new year, I wanted to let you know the latest news about the Microsoft and Yahoo! Search Alliance  and what you can expect in 2012. Our goal is to have Microsoft Advertising adCenter provide the paid search results for Yahoo! sites in the UK, France and Ireland in the first semester of 2012. As we work towards this goal we will keep you informed about actions you can take with your adCenter account and budget to help prepare for the transition.

Paid search testing

To help deliver on our commitment to transition with quality, we’ll begin as early as mid-January to test the delivery of paid search results from adCenter on Yahoo! traffic. This ad test is limited to a small percentage of Yahoo! traffic, however, you may see some increases in your usual adCenter campaign traffic up to 10 per cent.

We will continue to monitor and adjust the ad test until the Yahoo! ad serving transition to Microsoft Advertising adCenter is complete. As a routine best practice, we recommend that you closely monitor your campaigns and be prepared to increase your campaign budget if it is more than 80 per cent depleted; we can work together to adjust your budget if needed to help meet your business goals.

Simplified location targeting coming soon

In addition to preparing to implement the search alliance with Yahoo!, we are also improving your adCenter campaign management experience. The simplified location targeting capabilities will help you reach more relevant users with new Language and Location targeting options, which will automatically replace the option to target by Language and market. Once this change is implemented be sure to check that your ads are serving to locations you desire.

• Reach users in multiple locations that speak the same language.
• Select locations you wish to target at the campaign or ad group level from bundled countries to the individual city level.
• Apply bid boosting by locations to focus your spending more effectively.

Thank you for advertising with us, and we look forward to bringing you the benefits of the Microsoft and Yahoo! Search Alliance.

Yours sincerely,

The Microsoft Advertising adCenter team

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CS

Related articles

• Search Alliance Begins First AdCenter Testing In Europe (searchengineland.com)
• Yahoo! and Microsoft ready to Move Ahead with the Search Alliance in Europe (community.microsoftadvertising.com)