Now that all the regulating bodies have approved the Yahoo and MSN search merger, the official wait begins. Assuming things go well, we have at least until Q3 before some top advertisers will be migrated. Even the official press release mentions that they will wait until after Q4 and the retail holiday season if things aren't going smoothly. While all the technical and practical details are being worked out, here are a few things you may want to think about.

Start Running on MSN Search

This isn't a sales pitch for MSN, but more a precautionary measure. Establish a quality score credit with MSN as any quality score or historical data from Yahoo probably won't be moved to MSN. From match type variations to the differences in ad copy destination URLs, the data requirements of lining up the various systems are just too daunting.

Blocking Referrers: Choosing Your Network

Soon you will have the ability to choose if you run on Yahoo only or include their partner sites. This is long overdue, and will help advertisers' performance and conversion. However, Yahoo has taken it a step further and has allowed advertisers to run on their partner network only. This additional targeting tool may help those niche players who want to bid specifically for a Yahoo network partner. The ability to block poor referring partner sites has greatly improved results for some and is a differentiating factor in the marketplace today, even when compared to Google.

Yahoo Tests Some Positive Betas

Yahoo is testing their version of Google's Sitelinks, known as Rich Ads in Search. These ads apply to top branded terms, and allow advertisers to provide deep links to their consumers to access specific promotions or search their site. These ads have recently opened up to more advertisers. They are now on a cost-per-click basis versus the fixed-cost model they used during the beta testing. Below are a few examples, as well as the preliminary impact on results.

Yahoo is promoting approximately a 25 percent increase in CTR. Expect these betas to be around for the long term. But even if they aren't, why pass up the volume while it's available?

It's still too soon to determine how this merger will affect the search landscape. However,  there's still a lot of time to figure it out. In the meantime, don't let innovation and change pass you by. Testing will be more important than ever this year—from basic ad copy testing to more advanced beta testing. As paid search becomes more integrated into your online media strategy, don’t accept results at face value. Contact us for more information on how you can prepare for the final merger.