Outside Boston

Well, I don’t mean to keep picking on Yahoo, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, here I go again.  I’ve got a big problem with the way Yahoo “links” accounts together.  Working for an agency, I need to manage a number of PPC accounts, and the more streamlined the process can be, the better.  That means not having to log in and out of accounts all day.  Well, Google is still light years ahead of Yahoo on this front.

Google has managed to integrate their Certified Professional program ( which I am enrolled in with their My Client Center, a nice interface that allows me to add in and remove any PPC accounts I happen to be managing at the time.  I can pop in and out of these accounts easily, and my login never times out.  When I want to create a new account a click and a little bit of information filled out gets it done.  I can add in the keywords, ads, CC info, etc. at my leisure.

Yahoo’s system is not nearly as smooth.  The Ambassador program (yes, I’m a Yahoo Ambassador too) is outsourced.  At one time there was a link set up in the Ambassador interface to set up a new account and be credited your commission.  Now that can’t be done without a phone call. During the phone call you need to request that the new account be “linked” with the main account you are managing.  The only problem is that once your accounts are linked, the link can’t be broken. This is a major oversight in my opinion.  If a client drops you, you can hand over their login information and have them take over management of the account, but you can still access their account from your main account.  What if things go sour for this former client’s PPC program?  They could easily point their finger back and accuse you of tampering with their account!  After all, you still have access, don’t you?  I admit this has yet to happen to me, but it’s only a matter of time.

Navigating through linked accounts can be a hassle.  You select the client account you want to look at in the Campaign tab of the navigation.  Now say you want to pull up some reports for this account.  Oops, once you click on the Report you’re back on the main account and you have to select the client account again.  Need to add some money to the account balance?  Uh oh, as soon as you click on the Administration tab instead of going to the client’s account admin, you’re brought to a list of the linked accounts.  You have to reselect the client’s account again to get to their admin page.  All of this seems very odd for a PPC GUI, when PPC editorial stresses that there should be as few clicks as possible from a user’s search to the product or information in question on your website.

I could go on, but I’m trying to break a habit of long blog posts and long gaps in between.  I’m still trying to get the flow down with this blogging thing.  Maybe you’ll hear from me sooner next time.

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