A Look Ahead at the Transition to Microsoft adCenter

The latest update on the search alliance, and what advertisers will be doing once the transition window opens

As we approach the beginning of the Yahoo! Search Marketing account transitions to the Microsoft Advertising adCenter platform, we wanted to share more details on what self-service advertisers will be doing to prepare for the changes to come. Here are some things to begin thinking about:

adCenter account creation

Soon, you’ll need to either create a new adCenter account, or link an existing adCenter account to your Yahoo! Search Marketing account. Later this month, advertisers will see an “adCenter” tab within their Yahoo! Search Marketing accounts. Clicking there will take you to the beginning of the account transition process, where we’ll walk you through the simple steps to create or link accounts.

Budgeting

Once you create your adCenter account, it will be active and your ads will be eligible to serve on Bing right away. As a result, you’ll be managing both your new adCenter account and your existing Yahoo! Search Marketing account in parallel until ad serving for Yahoo! traffic transitions to adCenter, so plan to budget accordingly.

Microsoft Silverlight

Using Microsoft’s Silverlight, a web application framework similar to Adobe Flash, you’ll be able to see and address key differences between your Yahoo! and adCenter accounts as you transition. Download Silverlight now.

The organic search transition

Yahoo! organic (non-paid) search results will be powered by Bing as early as late August. If organic search results are an important source of referrals to your website, you’ll want to make sure that you’re prepared for this change. For more details, check out this earlier blog post.

Yahoo! will email a confirmation to advertisers once the adCenter tab becomes available and the organic search transition is complete. Please note: Advertisers with a Yahoo! account manager will get the direct assistance of their AM for their transition activities.

Additional resources

* Search Alliance Video – For a fun new way to see how the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance can benefit you, watch this animated video.
* Transition Center – The Yahoo! Transition Center includes articles and downloadable materials designed to help Yahoo! advertisers learn more about their transition to adCenter.

We are committed to making this transition as seamless and beneficial for you as possible. We appreciate your business, and look forward to bringing you the benefits of the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance.

Source:- http://www.ysmblog.com/blog/2010/08/05/a-look-ahead-at-the-transition-to-microsoft-adcenter/?swp=1&ref=MktngAlert