Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

1. How can I spend less and get a higher click-thru?

Yellow Page Categories you select and Ads you create determine how much you spend on your Campaign. To obtain higher Click-thru Rates and more cost-effective Campaigns, select Yellow Page Categories and Ad copy specific to the services or products you offer. Create and maintain two Ads for each Yellow Page Category in your Campaign. We rotate the two Ads in a Campaign automagically to help you find and retain better performing Ad, deactivate the other one. Then create a new second Ad. Don't edit an Ad that has run a while. Deactivate it instead and create a new Ad with the edits. That way you can avoid creating a poor performing Ad in future. Click here for tips on creating effective Ads.

2. How do you determine my Ad's position?

We display at most 10 Ads in a column on the right-hand side of Yellow Page Category Pages, one Ad above another.

We assign an Ad's Position (1 to 10, highest to lowest) based on its Ranking derived from its current Click-thru rate (CTR, the rate Prospects click-thru your Ad to your Listing), the Maximum CPC (cost per Click-thru) you set for your Campaign, the Maximum Cost per Day you set for your Campaign, and the current cost so far that day.

Click here to see how Ads appear on the page or click here to sign up with Smarter AdWords.

3. How do I add money to my campaign?

To increase your Campaign Balance, follow these steps:

1. Log into your Account.
2. Select the View / Edit Campaigns link at the top center of the page.
3. Select the amount you want to increase your Campaign Balance by.
4. Select the "Email Invoice for Increase - xxx" for the Campaign of interest (where "xxx" is the name of the Campaign).
5. If Ads stopped running because your Campaign Balance dropped to zero this will enable them to run if your Campaign has a good history of paying (as soon as I update your Campaign Balance).
6. Step 4 will email the Smarter AdWords Account's contact an invoice. Ads will start running as soon as we receive payment. In cases with a good previous payment history we can increase the Campaign Balance as soon as you create an invoice (before we receive payment).
7. You might want to enter/update your Target Notification Threshold.

4. How do I stop running a Campaign or inactivate my entire Smarter AdWords Account?

You can stop running a Campaign at any time by following these steps:

1. Log into your Account.
2. Click the View/Edit Campaigns link near the top of the page in its center.
3. Under Campaign Status clicking on an Active link will make that Campaign inactive (and clicking on an Inactive link will make it active).

To completely inactivate your Smarter AdWords Account, inactivate all of your Campaigns.

5. How do I begin my Campaign?

Create at least one Ad. Complete Account setup by responding to the email we send you by sending us only $5. Then we'll setup your new Campaign with an initial Campaign Balance of $5 which will start your Asds running. To add to your Campaign Balance see How do I add money to my campaign?

6. How do I place an Ad under multiple Yellow Page Categories?

When you created your Campaign you created an Ad that appears on Yellow Page Category Pages of the Yellow Page Category of the Listing your Ad's URL links to.

You need to add a Listing under EACH additional Yellow Page Category you want to add an Ad under. Once you've created new Listings log into your Account, select "View / Edit Campaigns" and then select "New Ad" for the Ad you want to replicate. The form will appear with all fields filled in. Leave Ad text as is and replace its URL with the URL of one of the new Listings. Click on "Create Ad." Repeat with the new URL of each additional new Listing. (To add new Ads under the SAME yellow Page Category follow these directions and change the Ad text while leaving the Ad URL unchanged.)

Don't take the time to re-type Listings to replicate them under additional Yellow Page Categories. Simply view the Listing you want to replicate and select the link at the bottom titled "Send SMARTERyellowpages.com your feedback (about the above Listing)." Use the form to send us a list of additional Yellow Page Category NAMES (as they appear on SMARTERyellowpages.com) you want to replicate your existing Listing under. We'll advise you when we've added your new Listings. Then add your new Ads as described above.

Yellow Page Categories you select for your Listings and Ads MUST be relevant to your service or product offerings.

About the Smarter AdWords Program

1. What is Smarter AdWords?

Smarter AdWords Program is a simple and quick way to purchase highly-targeted advertising, regardless of your budget. We display at most 10 Ads one Ad above another on the right side of Yellow Page Category Pages. Yellow Page Categories you select for your Ads must be relevant to your service or product offerings.

Users looking for a CPA, for example, select Yellow Page Category Pages about CPAs, on which we display Ads by CPAs. Which means we display your Ads to users who are specifically looking for your offerings. And is why we call SMARTERyellowpages.com users Prospects, and why Smarter AdWords highly-targeted advertising can be a cost-effective way for you to reach them.

This is contrasted with Ads on Internet search engine result pages that are displayed to users looking for services or products, but are also displayed to users doing research for work or a school paper, or to users looking up an old friend, etc, who may have no interest in buying your services or products.

Highly-targeted advertising averages four times the industry standard Click-thru rate. Many advertisers experienced even higher rates. We cannot guarantee your Ads will perform this well, but we do offer you tools to help you create Ads that are effective in driving traffic to your Listing. Once a Prospect Clicks-thru to your Listing its purpose is to motivate them to contact you and make it easy for them to do so.

You don't need a website to profit from Smarter AdWords. Your free Listing may include 500 words of copy, which equals 2 standard web pages, which is more than enough to motivate Prospects to contact you.

2. What are the guidelines for my Ad content?

All Ads must meet the advertising standards found in our Editorial Guidelines.

Text: Ad content is in the format of 25 characters for the title, 35 characters each for three text lines, and 100 characters for the URL to your Listing at SMARTERyellopages.com. Fewer characters may fit on the line if the text line contains too many wide characters like capital letters, lower case 'm' and 'w', and certain punctuation marks like '@', '&' and '%'.

Family Safe Ads and Listings must be Family Safe, which means they do not contain adult themes like gambling or pornographic content.

3. How much will my Ads cost?

We no longer charge to display your Ads. We charge only when a Prospect clicks-thru your Ad to your Listing.

Click-thru cost is discussed here: How will I be charged for my advertising campaign?

4. What kind of reporting is available?

As a registered Smarter AdWords customer, you can log into your Account at any time to view reports on your Campaign's performance. Reports can be generated for the day, week, month or life of your Campaign. Report results include number of Impressions served and Click-thru Rates for all Ads. Also financial data. The data in these reports will typically be up to the minute.

5. How secure is my information?

We understand that making an advertisement purchase online involves a great deal of trust on your part. We take this trust very seriously, and make it our highest priority to ensure the security and confidentiality of the information you provide to us. The information you provide us will only be used by us, and only in an effort to better serve you. We do not trade, sell, or share your personal information to anyone.

6. Can I place my Ads above the results?

We are pleased to announce the introduction of an auction-based PPC (pay-per-click) model that places of Ads in "premium positions." Premium Smarter AdWords Ads will appear on the top of Yellow Page Category Pages. Conventional Smarter AdWords Ads will continue to be placed on the right side of Yellow Page Category Pages. The content of your Premium Smarter AdWords Ads will come from the copy in your Conventional Smarter AdWords Ads.

At most three Premium Ads will be displayed. The three Premium Ads will be the same as the top three Conventional Ads, placed in the same order.

Click-thru cost is discussed here: How will I be charged for my advertising campaign?

7. Will my Ad appear in all browsers?

Some old browsers like Netscape 2 or below and IE 2 or below may not display some Ads properly. Far less than 1% of SMARTERyellowpages.com Prospects use browsers with this constraint.

8. Which firms may have an Ad campaign?

Smarter AdWords Ad campaigns are available to San Francisco Bay Area Firms only.

About Syndication

1. What impact will syndication have on my account?

We do not syndicate your Ads to other websites. Your Ads will appear at SMARTERyellowpages.com only.

About Your Campaign

1. How can I predict my Impression cost?

We no longer charge to display an Ad (an Impression). We charge only for click-thrus from your Ad to your Listing. See How will I be charged for my advertising campaign?

2. How do I change my Ad text?

You can change your Ad text at any time by following these steps:

1. Log into your account and click the View / Edit Campaigns link.
2. Scroll down the page until you see the Ad you want to edit.
3. Click the Edit link adjacent to the Ad you want to edit.
4. Make your text changes and don't forget to click Update Ad.

For tips on how to create successful Ads, click here. Rather than changing Ad text, you may want to deactivate the Ad and create a new Ad with the modified text. That way you preserve the performance data on the deactivated Ad and can determine if the new version performs better or worse than the original.

3. How do I change my campaign yellow page categories?

You can change your Campaign Yellow Page Categories as follows:

1. Log into your Account and click the View / Edit Campaigns link.
2. Scroll down the page to an Ad you want to edit the yellow page category for.
3. Click the Edit link adjacent to the Ad you want to edit.
4. Update the URL to refer to your Listing in the new Yellow Page Category and don't forget to click Update Ad.

4. How quickly will my scheduled ad appear?

Most new Ads are posted within minutes after an order is placed.

5. How do I select the best keywords and key phrases to include in my Ad?

Smarter AdWords does not use keywords and key phrases as search engines do. We place Ads based on Yellow Page Category Pages only. Appropriate keywords in the text of your Ads can be useful in motivating Prospects to Click-Thru to your Listing.

Charges, Billing and Payment

1. How will I be charged for my advertising campaign?

On 2/01/09 we introduced an auction-based PPC (pay-per-click) model and no longer charge to display Ads (Impressions). We charge only when a Prospect clicks through your Ad to your Listing (called Cost Per Click, or CPC). You set a Maximum CPC for Ads in your Campaign. And a maximum daily cost. We do not charge a minimum monthly fee.

Ad Placement. The Ad placement formula for PPC Ads considers:

• Your Ad's CTR (CTR is the rate Prospects click on your Ad and go to your Listing). CTR is considered a measure of Ad quality. In the sense that a quality Ad is one that receives more frequent response from Prospects, because its copy does a better job of reflecting what Prospects are looking for.
• The Maximum CPC you set for your Campaign.
• The Maximum daily cost you set for your Campaign.

We combine these three factors to establish a Ranking of Ad Placement top to bottom.

Ad CPC Cost. Like Google we use the Vickrey auction style to establish the actual CPC we charge for each Ad. Everyone bids in secret. All Maximum CPC bids are compared and the person with the highest Maximum CPC pays the SECOND highest Maximum CPC amount (if and when a Prospect clicks on the top Ad). This means the person with the highest Maximum CPC pays the amount of the second highest Maximum CPC. The person with the second highest bid pays the third highest bid amount, etc. This auction style is great for advertisers because no matter how high your Maximum CPC, you bid only what you actually need to bid to beat out the next bidder. Examples:

Your Bid	Next Highest Bid	What You Pay
$0.50	$0.45	$0.40
$7.75	$0.45	$0.45
$1.25	$0.45	$0.45

From the examples you can see that if your competitor bids $0.45 it doesn't matter how much above $0.45 you bid. You'll always end up paying just $0.45 per click. So what's the best way to bid? Easy, bid the highest amount that you're willing to pay. You'll never pay more than your max bid and you may pay less. Figure out what value a click has to your company and bid that amount.

2. How and when will I be billed?

When campaign Impression charges reduce your Campaign Balance near zero we'll email you that we stopped running your Ads. To increase your Campaign Balance see How do I add money to my campaign? To insure your Ads run without interruption you can set a Target Notification Threshold.

You can view your Campaign Balance, Target Notification Threshold, total fees, plus many statistics at any time online by logging into your Smarter AdWords account.

3. How does the target notification threshold work?

Target Notification Threshold As we run your Ads your Campaign Balance is reduced by the cost of Impressions when your Ad is displayed on Yellow Page Category Pages. When your Campaign Balance falls below the Target Notification Threshold you set for your Campaign this triggers an email from us notifying you that your Campaign Balance has fallen to your target amount. You can use your notification email in many ways, including:

• You can use your Target Notification Threshold as a Campaign Spending Limit, log into your Account and suspend your Campaign. You might do this to keep to a monthly budget.
• You can use it as an automatic advisory of how fast your Campaign Balance is falling, log into your Account and reduce your Target Notification Threshold to the next Campaign Balance level you wish to be advised about. (You can always log into your Account and get an up-to-date accounting of your Campaign Balance, but this is not automatic.)
• You can use it to log into your account and increase your Campaign Balance to keep your Ads running without interruption. To increase your Campaign Balance see How do I add money to my campaign?.

4. Can I pay by check? Credit card?

We currently accept payment only by check.

5. What if my ad isn't being shown often enough, and I decide to cancel my campaign?

Our cancellation policy is outlined in our Terms and Conditions. You should investigate whether there are additional Yellow Page Categories you want your Ads to appear under. You also may want to experiment with different text in your Ads to improve your Click-thru rate. Click here for tips on how to create successful Ads. Finally, increasing your maximum cost-per-click, CPC, can help place your Ad into display.

Contact Us

1. What if I have a question about my campaign, or if I have a suggestion to make?

Please send us a message about your Campaign by logging into your Account and submitting your message or suggestion there. You can also submit your suggestion/question by selecting the "Contact" link below. We look forward to hearing from you.