Google has Adwords. Bing has Bing Ads. So what does Yahoo have? Yahoo has Gemini. You may not have heard of it before because they haven’t been around that long (launched February 2014). You may think of Gemini as Yahoo’s version of Adwords or Bing Ads, but it’s a bit different.

Adwords and Bing Ads are Similar to Each Other

As I have said to you before, Google Adwords and Bing Ads is quite similar. When you advertise through these networks, you have the option to have your advertisement displayed on the respective search engines as well as their content network. Bing Ads also allows your ads to be shown on Yahoo’s search engine thanks to the Yahoo/Bing partnership deal.

How Yahoo Gemini is Different

• Google Adwords and Bing Ads are PPC networks. Yahoo Gemini is more of an ad network – you can choose campaigns based on CPM, CPC, or CPV.
• Google Adwords and Bing Ads gives you greater control and targeting capabilities, such as demographics, time restrictions, and automatic price adjustments. Gemini gives you basic targeting ability, including location, gender, topics, and keywords. It’s not a whole lot of control, but it’s simple and good enough for most advertisers.
• Google Adwords and Bing Ads displays ads in search engine results pages, partner search, and content network. Yahoo Gemini displays your “native ad” within content pages on the Yahoo network (ie. article pages), as well as desktop and mobile search results.
• Google Adwords and Bing Ads allow you to create Ad Groups under each Campaign. You don’t have that option with Yahoo Gemini, but I don’t think you really need it.
• The audience on Google Adwords and Bing Ads are, I believe, more intent-driven, meaning they are more ready to take action such as making a purchase or signing up for something. I’m not taking anything away from Yahoo Gemini because they do provide quality traffic, but their audience seems to be more interested in information and research. With that said, I have gotten plenty of conversions from Yahoo Gemini so please do not take it the wrong way.
• You have negative keywords option on Google Adwords and Bing Ads. This option is not available on Gemini.
• Google Adwords and Bing Ads offers a robust user interface with a ton of features. Yahoo Gemini is simple and offers the very basic options for an advertising campaign. People new to online advertising will have no problem setting up a new Gemini account.

Here is a screenshot of the Campaign setup page on Gemini:

How Yahoo Gemini is Similar

• All three networks allow you to target mobile search results.
• Ad setup is similar in all three. You enter a title, description, display URL, and destination URL.
• Display or text ads available for all three.
• All three offer conversion tracking and reporting.

I have used Google Adwords for over 8 years and Bing Ads for over 4. With Yahoo Gemini, I only have a few months of experience thus far. But, all three of them have proven to be effective. Of course, I’m not suggesting that they will work for all campaigns, but I’ve been able to make each work for me. Results will vary for everyone because everyone has a different strategy and product.

I can only recommend that you try them out and see what works for you. If you never try, how will you know what works and what doesn’t? If you are unsure of how to get started with an online advertising campaign, feel free to contact me. I can help guide you in the right direction.

Go to: Yahoo Gemini

For a limited time, Yahoo Gemini is offering a free $50 coupon code for new advertisers.