As of mid-June, Yandex.Direct will begin assigning greater importance to behavioral factors when ranking ads for search results pages. This might sound like a radical change, but it is more fine-tuning, intended to increase the relevance of ads shown for each search query. The same factors — quality, CTR, bids, etc. — will continue to play primary roles in determining which ads appear on a given site.
Situational factors, including user preferences, that only become apparent at the moment an impression takes place, already have a say in the ranking process, so you shouldn’t see big changes in the middle positions. If your ads successfully catch the attention of your target audience now, then they will continue to do so. This launch is more concerned with minor variations in ranking for individual users.
Making the audience the focus of auctions
Yandex.Direct’s main task remains unchanged — to maximize the number of high-quality, intentional clicks that you receive. Each impression is an opportunity, and the better ads user these opportunities, the more effective a tool Yandex.Direct can be for both advertisers and users.
After this launch, individual user preferences will have a greater effect on the order in which ads appear in a specific block. Users will find what they need faster, and advertisers like you will have better chances of getting the traffic you use Yandex.Direct to find.
A quick note on transparency
Experts know that the forecast cost of entry into a specific ad block is, in reality, a point of reference that does not apply to all impressions. Even in cases of an exact match between a keyword and search query, the cost depends on competitors’ bid adjustments for different audience types, the general level of competition, ads’ display regions, etc.
In each specific case, your ads’ positions can change slightly, but these differences are directly connected to the potential success of these impressions. If Yandex.Direct predictions indicate a high probability that a user will click on your ad, your ad will be more likely to appear in better positions. Conversely, you have less of a risk of overpaying for impressions less likely to get you the clicks you want.
You will still be able to regulate the reach of your target traffic based on the statistics of your impressions’ average positions and the recommended prices in auctions.
Our next project will be to simplify the bid management interface along with the actual process of running your campaigns. When we are closer to the launch, we will send you example questions and answers related to the changes involved.