Yahoo DSP is a major native traffic source that partners with some of the leading publishers in the world. Giving performance marketers a tool that reaches millions of customers, and access to a vast wealth of existing data and insights. Like other tools, Yahoo DSP too has its features and best practices that you can master for maximum results, in this article, we’ll go over five of them.
Targeting Options in Yahoo
Besides your more traditional targeting options, such as demographics, GEOs, language, device type, and the like, Yahoo DSP also provides quite an extensive and specific lineup of targeting options from which you can benefit. A few examples of what you can do include:
•You can target a location on a page (e.g. above the fold, below the fold, etc) where you want your ads to appear
•You can choose to target contextually relevant pages to display your ads or to refrain from displaying them in other spaces
•For your videos, you can choose to have them automatically start or only when a viewer clicks play
•Continuing on videos, you can choose to display your ads in different lengthed videos (e.g. up to 2 min vids, 2-5 min, 5-30 min, etc)
Note: The video’s length is different from the ad’s length
•You can target specific types of venues (e.g. office buildings, restaurants, outdoor areas, etc)
•You can even showcase your ads when certain weather patterns are in place (e.g. when it’s sunny outside or when it is snowing)
Image by Yahoo
Lookalike Audiences in Yahoo
An excellent feature inside Yahoo that marketers can use, is Lookalike Audiences. Users can harness Yahoo’s existing massive database, to better target their desired audiences. A few examples include:
•Device ID Audiences – basically targeting either iPhone users or Android users
•Email Address Audiences – targeting users that have previously used their email address, for example, to create a new account
•Re-engagement Audiences – targeting audiences based on previous impressions and clicks
•IP Address Audiences – targeting audiences based on their IP Address
•Search Keyword Audiences – targeting or excluding users that have searched for a specific term or word
•Point of Interest Location Audiences – targeting audiences that are within one meter of a specific point of interest (e.g retail stores, stadiums, airports, universities, parks) after a given amount of times during a specified period
•Predictive Audiences – targeting audiences based on their past consumer actions (e.g. online purchases, offline purchases, certain downloads, etc)
Best Practices in Yahoo
Best Practices for Ads
•Stay aware of the latest trends and news
•Ask yourself: “Would I click that ad?”
•Test all the components that make up an ad, and see which performs better
•Have at least 5 ads up and running at all times
•Use the Bid Landscape graph in the Reports Tab to manage your budget
•Make sure your ads look good across all devices
•Have a CTA (motivate the undecided)
Image by Yahoo
Best Practices for Titles
•Titles should be up to 50 characters long
•Titles should lead the reader to a benefit (e.g. question, answer, etc)
•Remember your targeting settings (e.g. car owners in Michigan)
•Use Title Case Properly
•Relate to the product or service you’re offering
•Try using numbers (e.g. 10,000 Satisfied Customers, Save $30)
Best Practices for Descriptions
•The text should flow, read naturally, use correct grammar, and avoid superlatives
•Avoid punctuation that isn’t necessary
•Use sentence case
•Use the “Sponsored by” field
•Use endorsements where possible (e.g. quotes from customers)
•Use the ™ symbol if you have a trademark or words such as “official site”
•Descriptions should be up to 150 characters long (two sentences that focus on the most important information you want to display)
Best Practices for Images
•Try not to put logos on your images
•Use attractive images (e.g. popular destinations for travel ads)
•Use clean images with one point of focus
•Images should be 1200×627 pixels
•Icon images should be 82×82 pixels (max)
Image by Yahoo
Yahoo Community Guidelines (Getting Your Ads Approved)
Yahoo has its own guidelines users have to follow, in order to have their ads approved. Having any of the following elements in your ads will lead to them (or even your account) getting banned:
•Usage of violent language towards any groups or individuals, or usage of words that promote acts of violence
•Any type of material that promotes the abuse of minors
•Any type of material that promotes adult content
•Promotion of illegal activities or drugs
•Content that is designed to mislead and deceive viewers
•Accounts not used for more than one year may be subject to deactivation
•Promotion of any type of content that violates intellectual rights
For a more detailed look into Yahoo’s guidelines, go here.
Fine-Tuning Yahoo DSP with TheOptimizer
To get the most out of Yahoo, connect it with TheOptimizer and run all your campaigns on autopilot. With TheOptimizer you will be able to scale your Yahoo campaigns profitably and save a lot of your time thanks to the platform’s automation based on preset conditions. If you are not familiar with TheOptimizer yet, it is the #1 automation tool for native platforms. It will allow you to replace your media buying manual (and boring) tasks such as blocking widgets, changing budgets, pausing ads, etc, with condition-based rules. If you want to learn more about how TheOptimizer can help with your Yahoo campaigns click here.
For details on other native traffic sources, you can check our excellent articles on Taboola and Outbrain.
