Minimum spend of £20 a month???

[axod]

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Just received an email from yahoo saying that since I haven't spent £20 on clicks in January, they're going to kindly charge me the difference, so that I've spent £20!!!
What a great idea yahoo... Way to reduce your market share even more! I bet google/msn are laughing.

The minimum bids being so high, the interface being a pain to use, changes not instant, the minimum spend of £20 a month, and not much traffic.... I just don't see how it can compete with google/msn.

So in effect they are charging me because of their inability to deliver enough traffic each month.... hrmm.

Has anyone had a good experience of yahoo search marketing?

[IntervisionMedia]

I hated that too, its annoying when you want to stop using them all together, you've either got to lose money or get your timing just right, as they don't just turn your account off. I let my first PPC experience go down to Yahoo - big mistake. Am now trying out adwords and its so much better from the outset.

[krush]

Yahoos control panel interface also sucks.

[axod]

Yahoos control panel interface also sucks.

Agreed. It's hard to see how they could screw up even more!

http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,72497-0.html

[a4uforummember]

I would hardly ask the question 'how it can compete with ...msn' considering adcenter is even worse than overture.

But anyway, those are the rules, twenty quid isnt a lot of money and they'll have a minimum spend for a reason, my guess, with respect, is that the twenty quid minimum is to help avoid timewasters accounts.

[axod]

I would hardly ask the question 'how it can compete with ...msn' considering adcenter is even worse than overture.

But anyway, those are the rules, twenty quid isnt a lot of money and they'll have a minimum spend for a reason, my guess, with respect, is that the twenty quid minimum is to help avoid timewasters accounts.

So shall I email amazon saying "Sorry, but you did not spend £20 in commission to me. I'll charge you our minimum fee of £20 anyway".
I think not

I think msn is better personally - lower minimum bids, no minimum spend per month, better traffic, and the interface is bearable.

Yes, £20 is not a lot, but it's just the audacity of them. They want to charge me money because they failed to deliver enough traffic to me because they suck

Closed my account now. Not worth it.

[yesasia]

If you dont use yahoo anymore, make sure to turn off your account before the end of the month. They won't charge you the minimum for months during which your account is switched off the whole time.

In the US yahoo have already changed their interface for some accounts, so it becomes more like google. Ad quality will matter, and there are adgroups just like on google. But the interface is much worse. MSN Beta seems much better once you get used to it.

[a4uforummember]

So shall I email amazon saying "Sorry, but you did not spend £20 in commission to me. I'll charge you our minimum fee of £20 anyway".

If that is the agreement that you have with amazon then i would not hesitate in sending them an email.

[garbo]

Whilst on this subject, is anyone aware of an Affiliate Scheme for Yahoo Search Marketing sign-ups for UK clients. The CJ scheme targets just USA customers, I believe.

[hpops]

Pretty sure (actually certain) that CJ have a Yahoo Search program for the UK - managed by Profero I believe

[Cyanide]

Yahoo Search Marketing is quite clear that there is a minimum charge of £20/month so you can't really complain about that. However, I believe that complaints about the horrible interface are very valid. I spent over an hour yesterday just trying to work out how to add a few extra keywords. I've had accounts with Google, MSN, Yahoo, Miva and Mirago and I think Yahoo is the worst of the lot! The only reason I use Yahoo at all is that the ROI is quite high in the sectors I am bidding on.

[1BIZLIST]

I hate this £20 minimum spend, I think it's a complete rip off and the "time waster" excuse is almost as stupid as the fee. So 200 people spending £10 a month is different in value to the company than 1 person spending £2000 in terms of what goes in the bank? No I don't think so, and if the arguement is well it takes more staff to look after 200 people, well that's business but Im certain that more than 1 of those 200 could turn out to be big spenders given time.

My email to Yahoo when closing the account because the guy on the phone insisted that I needed to state why I wanted it closed!

Having just spoken to one of your support team I have decided to close my Yahoo account, below are details of why I want to close it down as I was asked to supply them for your research.

The account number is: xxxxxxxxxx

Reasons – (I wasn’t going to say anything but I was asked specifically to put this in writing so here goes):

1) Having spent ages creating keywords then to have to wait 5 days for them to be reviewed only to have them declined time and again often with no reason, and even where there is a reason given its nearly always incorrect (having phoned support several times to have them simply re-list the damn things because they agreed there was no reason for them to be declined – great another 5 days before they may go live).

2) Having had quite a few keywords declined for no apparent reason I then get a mail stating that I’m not looking likely to make this absurd £20 minimum spend that you seem to think is necessary, and you then kindly inform me you will take it off me anyway – why that should be the case when no Major search engine seems to think it’s necessary is beyond me, unless you simply cannot deliver the quantity of traffic required to make a healthy living off of peoples adverts.

3) One of – no sorry the most cumbersome interface I have ever used in my life.

4) For a company that is supposedly pushing the boundaries of the online business world, to have a support team that is only available between 9 – 5 weekdays and not at all at the weekends is archaic to say the very least, and totally useless to most of those people who are trying to spend money with you and help to pay staff wages, many affiliate marketers, small businessmen and women and advertising people in general work very strange hours surely support should be available at the very least until late (10PM) if not 24 hours a day!



I did get a pleasant reply, and told that I could not withdraw my £60 that was in the account as it was part of the initial transfer and their T&Cs state that this cannot be withdrawn! Ooh whats this more pathetic business practices, hmm right choice to close it down I think.

I replied with a second mail:

Well many thanks for letting me know, I have no idea how such a large company can get things so wrong, where did customer satisfaction go? There was a saying that the customer is always right - even when they're wrong!

I will take your advice and run the account out of funds. I hereby give notice that I withdraw any permission for you (Yahoo search marketing or any subsidiary thereof) to take funds from my credit card and / or bank account, and would appreciate it if you can ensure the relevant department is aware of this.


So in setting my account up, waiting for 5 days for them to turn ads down because the URL has a trailing / and the person reviewing it thought it looked wrong so removed it and didnt get to my pages (ok I admit I should have sorted this out but still the URL I had put into my ad was correct!) then I sorted the problem out and waited 4 days more for the revised ad to go live, in the meantime I had 2 more ads incorrectly declined both with no reason - when I phoned support they said it was an error and they would resubmit them for me, hmm you guessed it another flipping week passed before they reviewed them again.

Ahh well as soon as the £60 has gone they can go whistle, they have taken my credit card details off the account now...

Unimpressed:
Mark

[Cyanide]

Having reactivated my account on 24th feb, I was pretty sure they couldn't possibly enforce the £20 minimum charge as there was only 4 days for them to provide advertising. I emailed them to confirm and I was wrong. They are going to bill me any difference between what I spend and the £20. Now I agree, this is ridiculous! Anybody want to get a petition going?

[Cyanide]

Just received from Yahoo:

Dear Mr. Bailey,

Thank you for contacting Yahoo! Search Marketing regarding your UK account xxxxxxxxxxxxx.

We would like to inform you that if you are charged the minimum monthly spend at the end of the month, please send us an email and we will be able to look into it.

[Brendon]

Why do y'all think Yahoo have been taking it in the shorts ever since Adwords came out? Y are a media company, run by media managers. OF COURSE they have no clue what they are doing. They bought Overture years ago, and are only now just getting around to upgrading the EXCACT same systems that were in place at the time of purchase!

They will either get a clue and evolve (possible), die a slow painful death, and be bought for cents on the $ by either G or MSN (far more likely, IMO), or if they can keep limping painfully on without gutting themselves for about 5 - 10 years, the market will mature sufficiently for them to be able to use their strengths to regain significant market share (a bit far fetched, but possible)