A couple days ago, Tamar reported that Yahoo Search Marketing raised the minimum credit card amount to $250 for the Yahoo Product Submit program. Yahoo then sent us a statement, calling this change "in line with the industry's competitive norm." Now, after being offline for two days, I come back to several threads complaining about Yahoo charging more but offering less services.
Besides for the spike in the minimum charges for Product Submit customers, their fees are going up as well. A WebmasterWorld thread and Search Engine Watch Forums thread has an email from Yahoo showing that Yahoo will spike up the cost per click (CPC) by 25% in all categories in the Product Submit category. Let me quote you the email:
From November 3, 2008, until December 31, 2008, Yahoo! will be making a seasonal rate adjustment by increasing the cost per click (CPC) by 25% in all categories. This means that during this period your actual billed CPC will be 25% higher. This adjustment reflects the increased consumer buying activity during the holiday shopping season, which is typified by increased leads, better conversion to sale, and increased revenue for our merchant partners. The 25% adjustment to your billed CPC will be reflected on your Click Report and in your invoice.
No wonder Yahoo increased the minimum credit card charges to $250, it will be required with a 25% CPC increase.
To make things worse, on the Yahoo Search Marketing side, I saw a WebmasterWorld thread reporting an email being sent to Yahoo advertisers. The email says that for some advertisers, telephone support will be discontinued and they will step up the email support. Here is part of that email:
We wanted to let you know of some important news regarding your servicing options:* Phone service - Starting September 29th, telephone support will no longer be available for some of our advertisers.
* 24-hour email support - Because we know some questions require personal help, our Customer Solutions team is always accessible, now through extended hours. Use the following steps:
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld and Search Engine Watch Forums and the second WebmasterWorld.
