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So…

The amount of bandwidth yahoo is pulling is massive on one of my sites…

The site in question is a forum in the UK which ranks well on yahoo but as yahoo search is only used by 7.72% (hitwise April 2007) the traffic is pretty low…

I’ve posted in forums before asking if the bandwidth is worth the traffic.. Now that might sound crazy but having 50 bots on the site day and night is a little OTT imho ?

Anyway… I like yahoo and the results for the UK really arn’t bad so i’ve given the bot a good telling too..

Basically if you need a way to slow yahoo’s bot down on your site use the following in your robots.txt file.

For example, a robots.txt rule to set a crawl-delay of 5 for Yahoo! Slurp looks like:

User-agent: Slurp
Crawl-delay: 5 

A shorter delay value of 0.5 would look like:

User-agent: Slurp
Crawl-delay: 0.5

More info here:

http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/search/webcrawler/slurp-03.html

Today yahoo is now in the UK using a similar system to google regarding google’s “smart pricing” …

From today, 15th November, advertisers in the UK can benefit from discounted clicks for better quality traffic

Cool discounted clicks …

One big problem with this.. As yahoo hasn’t launched YPN in the uk then this is really only to be a tiny change.. Why?

Well… The “discount clicks” only apply to “partner distribution network” clicks.. So.. With no YPN in the uk then is a small number of site “driving” this traffic…

Don’t hold you breath for a massive increase in traffic due to this change…

 What is changing?
Previously you were charged the same amount for traffic from all websites within our partner distribution network. However, with pricing discounts, a discounting system will be introduced and you may be charged less for certain clicks than the price you would normally pay. This discount depends on the overall quality of the websites who are providing this traffic to you. As a result, your click charges may decrease

Maybe just maybe UK YPN is coming !!!

Full info here: http://help.yahoo.com/l/uk/yahoo/ysm/sps/start/overview_qbp.html

Today is the launch of yahoo search assist in the uk and Ireland..

Only available from Yahoo!, Search Assist goes beyond basic search “suggestions” and gives consumers real-time query suggestions as well as related topics and concepts, which is especially valuable when a person is searching on an unfamiliar topic.  

“when a person is searching for a unfamiliar topic” OR when a seo is looking for new keywords

Here is a screen shot..

Video’s and audio are also ment to be included..

Haven’t found any yet but i’m sure its working ?

In addition to the new Search Assist feature, Yahoo! Search has also introduced multimedia integration including video, audio and photos  directly into the search results, allowing consumers to get their answer – whether it’s a Web link, photo, video or music clip — without leaving the page. 

Good luck yahoo..

Just got a email from the nice guys at yahoo letting know about todays launch of yahoo suggest…

Quote from the email:

Search Suggest is not a new feature for the industry, but it’s new for Yahoo! UK, rolling out in Europe in the coming days

Due to the fact its already in the US the you can already read a load about it below:

The US version was blogged about here: http://searchengineland.com/070712-084921.php 12th of July..

More info here: http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/014286.html

According to yahoopete over on SEW forums yahoo are going to ditch the minium spend for us in the UK

I’ve been asking for this for umm… Well as long as I can remeber..!

Here is a quote from the forums:

Yup, there will be no minimum monthly spend on UK accounts from August 1, 2007 onwards.

Posts from yahoopete :

http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=18948 

The only problem is the uk yahoo page hasn’t been update as yet

1. Each account requires a nonrefundable £60 initial deposit, which applies towards click charges. There is a minimum bid requirement of £0.05 per click-through. Please note that as the minimum bid depends on the specific search term, certain keywords will have a minimum bid of £0.05 and others a minimum bid of £0.10. Each account has a £20 monthly minimum spend.  

see:

http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/en_GB/arp/pricing.php

Some of you think i’m crazy.. £20.. That’s nothing.. True but some people say have a budget of £30 a month and the traffic / clicks isn’t enough to hit the £20 mark..

It’s happened to me and others… You get a email saying that you only spent £15 but yahoo going to take £20 whatever…

Hope yahoo gets blog and contract info updated soon ?

The email says it all..

 Here the first bit

New Ranking Model is now live in the UKDear Advertiser,Dear Advertiser,We’re excited to announce that the new ranking model is now live in our UK market. The new ranking model is designed to improve user results through higher quality search ads. When users engage with these higher quality search ads, advertisers will receive more interested, valuable potential customers, helping to drive better results for your business.

Dear Advertiser,We’re excited to announce that the new ranking model is now live in our UK market. The new ranking model is designed to improve user results through higher quality search ads. When users engage with these higher quality search ads, advertisers will receive more interested, valuable potential customers, helping to drive better results for your business.

As we previously announced, both bid amount and ad quality
now determine an ad’s rank in search results.

So at last yahoo look at the quality of the ads : )

uk crafts directory

According to yahoo blog the update should of finished..

 I have seen more referrals over the weekend than normal I should go of and check the serps..

 Anyway .. It was nice of yahoo to update us on the blog

Read more http://www.ysearchblog.com/archives/000470.html

Just got the upgrade email … Time to play

Your Account xxxxxxxx Can Now Be Upgraded
Dear Advertiser,

We wanted to let you know that, starting today 14.06.2007, you can upgrade your account to the new Sponsored Search.

In your account, you will notice two buttons - one that will take you to a preview of your new account, and one that will allow you to initiate the upgrade process.

We recommend that you log into your account today and do the following:

Access your new Sponsored Search preview. Click on the “Preview” button to be taken to the new Sponsored Search login page. Please bookmark this page, then re-enter your current username and password to view your preview. Then, get familiar with the new account structure, features and layout in advance of your upgrade.
Initiate the account upgrade. On average, your account will be upgraded within eight hours; however accounts with more listings may take up to 24-48 hours. As you are unable to make any changes to your account during this upgrade, we recommend initiating the upgrade by selecting the “Upgrade Now” button at the end of your business day, to minimise any disruption to your account.
To get started on your upgrade, please print and read the Quick Start Guide.

In addition, please visit the following resources linked below for an overview of important topics related to the upgrade:

New Account Structure
How Listings Are Transferred
Changes to Content Match
Navigating Your Account
Please contact Customer Solutions on 0800 169 9740 or your Account team at 0207 131 1800 with any questions.

Regards,
Yahoo! Search Marketing

Just got this from yahoo..

Dear Advertiser,

We are providing you with a quick and easy way to learn more about the new Yahoo! Search Marketing Sponsored Search account platform.

We are offering online webinar training sessions to provide advertisers with information about the new Sponsored Search. The webinar will provide an in-depth overview of the account upgrade process, the enhanced account interface and also provides an opportunity for you to have your questions answered on the account upgrade. These sessions, which will last 1 hour each, are offered free as a service to our valued advertisers.

To find out more information and reserve your place at one of our webinars please visit: http://newsponsoredsearch-yahoo.webex.com/.

We look forward to helping you gain a better understanding of the upgrade to the new Sponsored Search platform.

Regards,
Yahoo! Search Marketing

Red and black gradient in the background on http://uk.yahoo.com  ?

Whats it all about ? Seems to be for the film Oceans 13 to match the ad.. hmmm

Screen shot: