The 5 cents minimum bid on Overture

[harv]

I seem to recall in the past that there was a warning
given when you were about to modify an EXISTING
listing, where the bid was under 5 cents, that
any change to the Title or Description would
cause the bid to be raised to 5 cents (as if it was
a new listing).

I have just changed a description and no warning was given.

Does anyone know what the situation is please ?


Harvey

[markymark]

Dunno, Harv, but you can see what your bid is currently in the manage bids section or whatever the hell it is caused. That should answer your question for you. If it is still less than 5 cents, then I wouldn't draw attention to it.

[harv]

It was a listing I no longer required so I experimented
with the change and then deleted it.

Because it can take a few days for the listing to be
approved I can't say what the result would have been.

And similarly because Overture can take time
in answering questions I thought I'd quickly see
if anyone in the forum had an answer

[MakeMeTop]

It will go up (unless the Overture editor hasn't checked).

I've got a LOT of accounts on Overture - trust me, if you have a 1c bid - don't change anything ;)

[harv]

Barry,

Would this apply to changing the Urls (to tracking Urls) ?.

My question to Overture was

>What is the possibility of me being able
> to change the Urls of all my listings to become
> tracking Urls (using proper ad tracking program
> Urls not just an extra suffix on the Url) but still
> retaining the same bid values (ie. under 5 cents) ?

Their reply
> It is very possible to have all your URL's changed to include a
> tracking code. We have numerous advertisers who attempt this
> modification. As a modification, however, your search terms
> will be reviewed again to make sure they still meet
>all our guidelines. URL modifications are still reviewed
>in the normal fashion

That's fair enough, but they did not say yes or no regarding
the 5 cents issue

( I've gone back and asked for clarification)

[ihelpyou]

Oh yes. They will go up in the minimum as they have to re-evaluate your keywords now as well. That is what I think anyway.

[harv]

Originally posted by ihelpyou
Oh yes. They will go up in the minimum as they have to re-evaluate your keywords now as well. That is what I think anyway.

Surprisingly - not so !

I now have it from the horse's mouth

=====================================
Thank you for contacting Overture.

Any bid changes you make to these listings will make
them subject to the 5-cent minimum. Changing your
URL, title, or description, will not affect your
grandfathered bids.
======================================



Harvey

[ihelpyou]

Good deal! I am surprised at that also as they have to look at your changes to just change a title or Url.

[bigDugan]

I am NOT surprised, I thought they'd done away with the minimum. While I no longer use Overture, I still monitor kw listings over there. I HAVE seen NEW listings come in UNDER the 5¢ minimum. These were NEW advertisers that were never listed before! I just assumed they'd done away with the minimum, and apparently they have.

[harv]

Originally posted by bigDugan
I am NOT surprised, I thought they'd done away with the minimum. While I no longer use Overture, I still monitor kw listings over there. I HAVE seen NEW listings come in UNDER the 5¢ minimum. These were NEW advertisers that were never listed before! I just assumed they'd done away with the minimum, and apparently they have.

As far as I am aware they have not removed the
minimum bid. Are you sure about these new listings ?

By the way, how do you manage to print the "cent" symbol ?

[bigDugan]

As far as I am aware they have not removed the minimum bidThat's interesting to hear, perhaps I am crazy after all!;) I have monitored specific kws on Goto/Overture for over a year, and still monitor these specific kws. I have seen new advertisers pop up for these kws, that have never appeared in the year plus that I've been checking-- with bids under 5¢. I didnt pay it much attention, because I just thought they'd dropped their minimum bid, because it seems as more advertisters were dropping out, and I figured they would lower the minimum bid to keep more advertisers. Maybe these advertisters have a special arrangement? Anyone else notice this?
:tongue:~I'm pretty sure I was sober that night!

[Kal]

Nope, I don't think so Big D. I think what you may be finding is that the original bidders have merely changed the URL's for the same search term. Or perhaps they've changed their advertiser name but kept the same account with Overture. I don't know of any keywords that have cost under 5c since they introduced the minimum bid many many months ago.

[bigDugan]

No, this was a well-known company, that came in with a 1¢ bid. I have never before seen them listed for this particular kw in the year plus I've been checking!!! In fact, I dont think they even start using Overture until recently.

P.S. harv, You can use windows Character Map to print the ¢ symbol.

[bigDugan]

But I just wanted to know if anyone else HAS noticed this?

[bigDugan]

You know, I sent Overture an email about this weeks ago but never got a response. If you spend enough with Overture, you'll get special privileges. Funny thing is, the mysterious big name advertiser has since disappeared.