Measure Listing Performance with New Click Index™ Meter

Five-bar indicator compares click-through rate on your listing to other listings for the same search term

By now, you've probably noticed that Yahoo! Search Marketing's account interface has a new look. On May 3, we added new columns and information fields on the Manage Bids page, most notably, the Click Index™ meter. This five-bar indicator provides you with an at-a-glance graphical representation of how the click-through rates of your listings compare to the click-through rates of your competitors' listings.

Listings with high Click Index scores (4 or 5 bars) have better click-through rates than other listings displayed for that search term, while a low Click Index score (1 or 2 bars) indicates that a listing has a lower click-through rate than other listings displayed for the same search term. In calculating your Click Index score, we also take into consideration your bidded position within Yahoo!'s search results.

Here are a few important points to remember about Click Index:

• You may find that some or all of your Click Index meters are blank. This doesn't mean that your Click Index score is 0; rather, it simply indicates that the listing hasn't received enough impressions to calculate a score. Listings that are in danger of removal will show a score of 1 bar.
• You can have a click-through rate on a given listing that is relatively high compared to your other listings, while still having a low Click Index score. This is because Click Index scores are calculated by comparing the click-through rate on your listing to other listings that are displayed for that same search term. No comparison is made to your other listings for different search terms.
• In cases where only one listing appears for a particular search term, a Click Index score is determined by evaluating the listing's click-through rate compared to the minimum click-through rate required for that search term. Minimum click-through rates vary from term to term, and are generally set very low.

If your Click Index score is two bars or below, try the following simple tips to help you improve your score:

• Add the search term itself to both your title and description. Our research has shown that this simple step can improve your click-through rate by up to 50 percent.
• Revise the title and description so that they both specifically relate to your search term, rather than provide a general explanation of your Web site's products or services. By doing so, your listing is more likely to meet search users' expectations.
• Consider bidding on other search terms that are very specific to your Web site's products or services, rather than general terms broadly related to your industry.

For more tips on writing effective titles and descriptions, please visit the "Optimise Your Results" section of Yahoo! Search Marketing's Resource Centre.