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Burning Questions

We answer some common queries about the upgrade to the new Sponsored Search platform

Many of us who grew up in the "Sesame Street" generation have it burned into our brains: "Asking questions is a good way of finding things out." And when it comes to your Yahoo! Search Marketing account and how it will be affected by your upgrade to the new Sponsored Search, this axiom still holds true.

With that in mind, here are some of the most common questions that our Customer Solutions department has been receiving about the upgrade:

Q: When will my account be upgraded?
A: The upgrading of advertisers to the new Sponsored Search began in October. Advertisers are being upgraded in waves over the rest of 2006 and the first part of 2007. You will receive your individual upgrade date via email, as well as U.S. mail, at least two weeks in advance.

Q: Will it cost me anything to upgrade my account?
A: There is absolutely no cost associated with the upgrade of your account.

Q: Why do you keep bugging me to update my contact info?
A: There are two main reasons that we have been hammering this point home. First, your current billing zip code will determine the time zone for your reports in the new Sponsored Search. For example, if your billing zip code is located within the Central time zone, your reports will all appear in Central Time once you upgrade your account. Second, we are sending many communications, through both email and U.S. Mail, to keep you informed of the details of your upgrade, and we want to make sure you have all the necessary information.

Therefore, please take a moment now to log into your account and verify your contact info here.

Q: I have multiple accounts. Can I upgrade all my accounts at the same time?
A: No, at this time we are not able to guarantee the grouping of multiple accounts from the same advertiser in a single upgrade time. However, to help accommodate your needs, you have the option of requesting an early upgrade of your accounts or, if you are invited to upgrade before the end of the year, you have the option to defer it until after the holiday season to avoid any disruptions to your business and advertising during this important time. As we upgrade more accounts after the beginning of 2007, we will attempt to group multiple accounts under the same client ID to upgrade in a single day.

Q: Once I upgrade, can I still log into my old account? What will I see?
A: Yes, you will still be able to access your "old" Sponsored Search account at https://secure.overture.com/s/dtc/center/?mkt=us, where you can access reports containing account data accumulated prior to your upgrade date, as well as download your listings (as they stood when you upgraded) to a spreadsheet or text file.

Q: Once I upgrade, can I access historical data from my old account?
A: Yes, you will be able to access your historical information for at least six months from the date of your upgrade from your "old" Sponsored Search account.

Q: When will new advertisers be able to sign up for and use the new platform?
A: We currently anticipate that new advertisers will be able to sign up and begin using the new platform sometime in December. If you are a current advertiser, please do not sign up for a new account, as you will lose all of your historical data, as well as all the work you put into refining your listings in your current account. If you are interested in upgrading your account immediately, you can request an early upgrade.

Q: How will you determine account organization when you upgrade my account?
A: As we upgrade advertiser accounts, we are applying a set of guidelines that we believe will result in a logical account organization when the upgrade is completed. These guidelines include:

• Categories become Campaigns: Occasionally, we split up a single category into multiple campaigns, for example, when the number of ads in a single category would exceed the number allowed in a single campaign.
• Campaigns are given names based on the names of the corresponding categories.
• Ad groups are created by grouping together related/similar keywords and/or ads (what we currently call "listings") that are identical except for the keyword.
• Ad groups are given names based on the keywords used for the ads in the group. If we can't find words that appear frequently enough in the ads, we will assign a generic name, such as "Ad Group 001."
• If we are able to name an ad group based on the keywords within it, that ad group name will be assigned as the default text if the Insert Keyword feature was used.
• If we assigned a generic ad group name, such as "Ad Group 001," default text will be left blank for any ads using the Insert Keyword feature.

Q: How should I get started?
A: A great place to start is by watching the "Upgrading Your Account" and "Navigating Your Account" tutorials, which will help you understand what is happening and how to hit the ground running.

We hope that this information helps you understand the "ABCs" of your account upgrade. We offer many more FAQs and lots of other helpful facts in our Upgrade Center and blog.