BidLab review of Overture.com:

 (4 out of 5)

We like Overture.  Or should we now say, Yahoo Search m  Not only do we like it, we use it.  One way to get many visitors to your website is with high search engine ranking, which takes time, patience, skill, luck, mojo and most importantly, the ability to write great content. Next to this, the next best way is to pay for it, using a PPC search engine that lets you bid for clickthroughs that show text ads mingled with search results.  This is the best way to insure a steady stream of visitors to your website, if the first option is too elusive or if you need immediate results.

Pros: If you are going to use a PPC search engine, then you must consider Overture.  It is the most established PPC network, and the main competitor to Google AdWords. Overture's network includes search results pages on Yahoo, MSN, Info Space, Alta Vista, All The Web, Dog pile, and more.

Overture has a proven track record, and has an extremely easy to use interface with powerful tools like Keyword Match Types, a Search Term Suggestion Tool, and daily reporting of keyword placement, top bids, other bid amounts for keywords, etc. Our favorite feature is being able to see how many monthly searches are performed for keyword terms, which gives you an idea of a search phrases overall popularity.

Cons: Overture can be expensive if you are not smart about selecting your search terms.  Keyword bids start at 10 cents, and with many affiliate programs paying out only a few cents to a nickel per lead, that means you'll have to be careful what links are on your landing pages.  When using any PPC search network, you should try and link to your landing pages where you either sell items on your own behalf directly, or where your affiliate commissions are at least 10 or 20 dollars a pop.

We feel that Overture could make itself more accessible to the little guy in the market by returning to five cent minimums, as some keyword search terms often appear to go un bid when they occupy positions past the third or fourth spot.  The naturally high competition for popular keywords would still keep their profits up, and would let more small business owners and individuals enter their PPC bidding marketplace, which would ultimately drive all bidding activity upward.  A rising tide lifts all boats, and everyone benefits.

Note: Although a ten cent minimum may seem expensive compared to enhance.com's three cent minimum, Kanoodle's five cent minimum, and Go Click's one penny starting bid, are you really saving anything?  You usually have to compete with people who have bid 10 cents or more at the cheaper sites for most popular terms any way, which means if you want to be in the PPC game, you are going to bid more than ten cents per search phrase.

Another area we feel could stand improving is Overture's approval time for ads, which usually takes from one to two days.

Also, although we like the editorial review process due to the quality assurance it provides the partners in it's network, it is very strict with what punctuation can appear in ad titles and descriptions, and what type of content can appear on your landing page.  If a web page is not of the highest professional standards, or if its simply a series of affiliate ads for another company's website without any additional content provided, your keyword ad may be rejected.

Having covered the pros and cons, we sum up Overture this way- Although an ideal world would include a lower overture bid minimum, we feel their site is overall a stellar sales and advertising tool.  It is a cornerstone of our ad placement on search engines, and it must be considered by any serious webmaster needing traffic.

Different types of Overture Match Types searches:

Let's say you are using Overture to sell your 200 pieces of Elvis Presley Rock Memorabilia.  To get the most bang for your buck, and the highest link conversion (sales) possible, you will want to specify keyword phrases that are as close to an exact match as you can.

For instance, lets say you are selling your Elvis Presley Rhine Stone Belt or your Elvis Presley Hawaii Concert Ticket Stub.  You would not want to simply choose generic terms like "Rhine Stone" or "Ticket Stub", because your ad will be seen either by people who are searching for something that is totally unrelated to Elvis- they won't click on your link, or worse, your ad will be clicked on and seen by people who aren't going to buy from you and will leave your page again in a few seconds.  This costs you from a dime up to your max bid, each time your ad is clicked!

However, let's say you are using Overture, and you are not getting enough clickthroughs over a certain period of time... you may have set up your keywords to be a little too specific.  In this case, you may want to use a simple and powerful tool called Match Types at Overture.  Some possibilities for keyword terms can be seen in the chart below.

Match Type Variation Chart

Some people get Overture Phrase Match and Broad Match confused- Remember, Phrase Match finds the exact phrase, with no word variations allowed.  Let's suppose you want to buy an auction book online.

When Phrase Match is used, your keyword phrase "auction book" must be entered by the search user in that exact manner: e.g. "Where can I buy an auction book"?

Remember, with Broad Match, a search can involve terms that use your keywords in a sentence, although perhaps slightly out of order.  For example, a search for the term "auction book" might yield both the words used in a sentence like this:

"Find ebay auction for rare old book"
This is is an example of Broad Match, separated by words.

"Where can I find a book about running an auction"
This is is an example of Broad Match, with keywords used in a different order.

UPDATE:  Overture recently made changes to its content match system!  Overture bids are now no longer listed under the "Manage Products", but are broken up under two different tabbed pages now:  Manage Precision Match, and Manage Content Match.  You would set your bids for exact phrases under the first area: Manage Precision Match, and your bids for broad, content match are set under the Manage Content Match.  The Precision Match area, lets you see bids for the top five keyword spots, while the Content Match area only shows the top three keyword bids.

NOTE: You still must select Content Match: ON in the Account Summary for Content Match to be applied to your searches.  If you concerned about overspending or feel you are getting results that are too unfocused, you can also turn individual listings on or off in the Manage Content Match area.

Also see PPC Search Engine Auctions Explained:

PPC Clickthrough Auctions - Bid for Website Traffic
PPC Search Auction Sites: Where to Bid
Chart: Bidding Intensity based on CPC (Cost Per Click)
How PPC Keyword Bidding works
Caution: Watch for Flying Bids