Yahoo! Search Marketing

Getting Started Guide: ForecastService Overview

The ForecastService provides operations that enable you to perform forecasts for ad groups, keywords, or sets of keywords.

About Forecasts

Use the ForecastService to determine what kinds of results you might expect from your ads (impressions, clicks, cost, and other performance metrics). You can use this information to create more effective campaigns or to set appropriate budgets.

Keep in mind that the results returned by a forecast are estimates only and are not guaranteed.

Perform Forecasts

ForecastService provides operations that enable you to perform forecasts for ad groups, keywords, or a set of keywords.

Ad Groups

To generate a forecast for an ad group, specify the ad group ID and supply the forecast request data (account, market, geographic target, and bids for Sponsored Search and/or Content Match®). The forecast request data defines the particular scenario you are interested in forecasting. The response returns the forecasted performance metrics for the ad group and ad group bid landscape, taking into account the average quality index (quality score) for that ad group.

Keywords

To generate a forecast for a keyword, specify the keyword and supply the forecast request data. If you specify an (optional) ad group ID, the forecast is performed as if the keyword were in that ad group. Your forecast may vary depending on the quality index of the ads in the specified ad group. The response returns the forecasted performance metrics for the keyword and keyword bid landscape.

Sets of Keywords

To generate a forecast for a set of keywords, supply the (default) forecast request data as well as the (customized) keyword forecast data. If you specify an (optional) ad group ID, the forecast is performed within the context of that ad group. The response returns forecasted performance metrics for the keywords and keywords bid landscape.