Earlier this year, we announced that a completely redesigned marketing platform is on its way, full of advanced, easy-to-use features that will help you better connect with Yahoo!’s vast and valuable audience. We wanted to take a moment to provide you with an update on the availability of the new Sponsored Search.

We’ve begun inviting U.S. advertisers to upgrade their accounts. We’ve been thoroughly testing our systems to help ensure a quality experience once advertiser accounts are upgraded, and we are now beginning the process of inviting advertisers to upgrade their accounts.*

Invitations will be sent in stages to U.S. advertisers over the remainder of the year and early next year. You’ll be notified of your upgrade date at least two weeks in advance. You’ll also be able to access a preview of what your account will look like after the upgrade. This preview can help you become familiar with the features and the layout of the new control panel, called the Yahoo! Marketing Solutions center. If you’re happy with your preview, we encourage you to upgrade your account as soon as possible. This will help ensure that your upgraded account closely resembles the preview. Advertisers that are invited to upgrade before the end of the year may choose to do so after the holidays, to avoid any disruption during this important time. If, however, you can’t wait to get your hands on the new Sponsored Search, you can request that your upgrade date be scheduled as early as possible by filling out the Online Request Form.

Many resources will be available to help you make a smooth transition. We’ve created an extensive Upgrade Center to assist you during the transition. Full of tips, tutorials and FAQs, the Upgrade Center will walk you through all of the new features within the Yahoo! Marketing Solutions center, as well as the best practices for managing your new Sponsored Search account. We’ll also be launching the Yahoo! Marketing Solutions blog soon, to provide you with timely information about the new Sponsored Search, as well as inside tips from our own online marketing specialists and much more. You can find all of these resources by visiting the Upgrade Center.

The bid information displayed within your current account will soon change. As advertisers upgrade their accounts, their bids will no longer be reflected in the current system. To ease this transition and help provide you with accurate bidding information, in approximately six to eight weeks you will see two new data points on the Manage Bids page: First, you will see a bid range for prime placement. This bid range will tell you what advertisers are currently bidding for the spots at the very top of the search results page for each keyword (Example: $.75 - $.25). Second, you’ll see an estimate of your average position for each listing. Each time you enter a new bid this estimate will change, so you’ll be able to tell where your listing is likely to appear for a given bid. Once these two new pieces of information become available, you’ll no longer see the Top 5 Max Bids column displayed in your account.

Please note that there will be no change to the way listings are ranked for the remainder of 2006; they will continue to be ranked by bid as they are today. Early next year, we will change the way ads are ranked, taking ad quality into account, as well as bid. More detailed information will be provided regarding this change before it occurs.

New Terms and Conditions will take effect once your account is upgraded. Once you’ve upgraded, your account will be governed by a new set of advertiser Terms and Conditions. Review the new terms and conditions.

We hope you are as excited about the new Sponsored Search as we are. Bringing this powerful new marketing platform to you is just the first step towards helping you better connect to the Yahoo! audience. So please be on the lookout for more information about this important change and be sure to visit the new Upgrade Center to learn more. You may also contact us at 866-YAHOO-98 (866-924-6698) if you have questions.

Sincerely,

Your Partners at Yahoo! Search Marketing