Today Yahoo Search Marketing announced that your minimum pay-per-click bids are going to be changing. Currently, the minimum bid is $0.10 (ten cents) across the board for every keyword. However, the announcement made today states that minimum bids will no longer be fixed but will vary.  This change will affect only sponsored search keywords; the content network minimum bid will remain as is, at $0.10 (ten cents).

How will your new minimum bid be determined? There are a two main factors that will come into play:

  1. Your keyword’s relevancy and quality score.
  2. The number of advertisers bidding on the given keyword.

Advertisers will be notified before the minimum bids are changed in order to give them time to adjust accordingly. Keep in mind that your minimum bid may decrease or increase. How can you anticipate these changes and start getting ready for them right now? Here is a quick list:

  • Improve your quality score. If you haven’t been tightening your keyword groups, writing highly targeted ad texts, and improving your click-through rate – now is the time to start!
  • Keep an eye on the interface. Yahoo has stated that they will notify you of any impending changes through your account interface. Check your account frequently for any new messages or alerts.
  • Download your account. As your minimum bids change so will your bidding strategy. Take a quick snapshot of your account before you begin adjusting your strategy. This way, you’ll have a record of where your bids were previously.