What is Search123?
Search123 is the search engine services division of ValueClick US Media, part of ValueClick, Inc. [NASDAQ: VCLK].  We operate our own pay-per-click (PPC) search engine, launched in October 2000, and we provide comprehensive search engine marketing (SEM) solutions for search marketers.  Our PPC search engine allows advertisers to bid on keywords for positioning within search results and receive targeted clicks from our network of hundreds of quality traffic partners.   Advertisers use our simple, self-service interface to create site titles and descriptions, bid on keywords and manage every aspect of their Search123 account.    Our SEM solutions include our paid inclusion product, called PowerInclude and a platform to manage paid search campaigns on other PPC engines including Overture, Google, FindWhat, and others. For more information on our SEM offering, please click here.

Back to Top

How many searches and clicks do you get on the Search123 network?  
While we do not make that information specifically available, our network is made up of hundreds of high-quality content sites, directories and search engines that generate hundreds of millions of searches and millions of qualified clicks to our advertisers each month.   

Back to Top

Where will my listings appear?
Search123 listings are distributed across hundreds of high-quality small and medium-sized content sites, directories and search engines.  Search123 does not get a significant amount of distribution from any of the highly-competitive and expensive portals powered by Overture and Google.  Most of our advertisers already advertise on the larger paid search platforms and use Search123 as an incremental source of lower cost, high-quality traffic that allows them to improve their overall return-on-investment (ROI) from pay-per-click search marketing.  For a list of some of the sites within our network, please click here.

Back to Top

Where are the Terms and Conditions of being an advertiser?
The Terms and Conditions are located here.

Back to Top

How do you select your distribution partners?
We select our partners based on the quality of their website, directory or search engine and the demographics of their user-base.  Unlike many other PPC search engines, we are very selective in choosing partners that syndicate our listings.  Partners go through a stringent selection and qualification process and are monitored on an ongoing basis for click quality and conversions. For more information on our requirements, please click here.

Back to Top

Do you screen or filter your search traffic?
Yes.  We continuously monitor searches and clicks from each of our partners using our proprietary technology and internal human review processes.  We do not charge advertisers for clicks that do not meet our quality standards.

Back to Top

Do you accept foreign traffic?
We only accept qualified traffic originating from English-speaking countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and a few other countries.

Back to Top

How can I apply to become a distribution partner?
If you would like to be considered to participate in the Search123 Traffic Partner program, please contact our Business Development team through our contact form or by telephone at 877-77-SEARCH (US only).  For more information, please click here.

Back to Top

What is your minimum bid price?
Our minimum bid is $0.05 per click, the lowest among quality search engines.  However, we suggest that our advertisers manage their bids by keyword and place higher bids on keywords and keyword phrases that are more productive for their offering.  Generally, the highest volume of distribution on our network is on the top-5 listings.   Our interface will allow you to monitor bids, by keyword, for the top-5 positions.

Back to Top

Is there a minimum I must spend per month?
No, unlike other pay-per-click search engines that require their clients to spend a minimum amount each month, we impose no such minimums on our advertisers.

Back to Top

Do you charge for your account management or optimization services?
No.  Unlike other quality PPC engines, we do not change for any services related to assisting our clients to manage or optimize their account. This includes assisting with site titles, descriptions, selecting keywords, keyword expands, and any other one-time or ongoing service required to get the most out of our network.  To take advantage of this free service , please contact our Account Services team through our contact form or by telephone at 877-77-SEARCH (US only).

Back to Top

What is the minimum deposit required  to open an account?
The minimum amount required to open an account is $50.  

Back to Top

What is the minimum amount that can be charged to a credit card?
The minimum amount that can be charged to a credit card on our system is $50.

Back to Top

What do I do if your payment gateway rejects my credit card?
Because protecting our clients is so important to us, we have established filters that may reject legitimate transactions.  If your card is rejected in error by our system, please contact our Account Services team through our contact form or by telephone at 877-77-SEARCH (US only).

Back to Top

What forms of payment do you accept?
Search123 accepts Visa, MasterCard and American Express through our secure credit card payment gateway.  We also accept payments by wire transfers and checks by prearrangement. For more information, please contact our Account Services team through our contact form or by telephone at 877-77-SEARCH (US only).

Back to Top

What are some of the features of your user interface?
We released a new interface in April 2004 and will continue to make enhancements to it to meet the needs of our advertisers and agency clients. We believe that our interface is among the best in the pay-per-click search engine industry.  The following are some of the features that help our clients effectively  manage the performance of their accounts:

• Customizable “dashboard” enables advertisers to view and manage their entire campaign, from either the keyword view or the listing view, from a single page.
• Keyword grouping allows advertisers to assign keywords to customizable “folders” (for example, by listing, product type, CPC, spend, click volume).
• Sub-phrase matching allows advertisers to opt into placement on queries in which their keyword or keyword phrase does not directly match the query but appears as a sub-phrase of the query (for example, “California insurance” as a sub-set of “California insurance agencies”).
• CPC required for position allows advertisers to easily view and select the CPC for the top 1-5 positions in the Search123 network.
• Unique “keyword records” allows advertisers to create a separate record for each combination of keyword and CPC, allowing greater analysis and planning in managing keyword campaigns.
• Sub-accounts allow Search Engine Marketing firms, agencies and larger advertisers to create sub-accounts associated with a single, master account.
• Integrated tracking through a new user-input field allows advertisers to assign tracking at the keyword level.
• Tracking CTR allows advertisers to see the CTR of their listing relative to other listings associated with the same keyword, enabling greater listing optimization and control.

For more information on our features, please click here.

Back to Top

Do you have online reporting tools?
Yes. Search123's online reporting tools allow advertisers to access information about their entire account history, or by specific listings or keywords. In each case, reports include the number of clicks generated, the average CPC, the percentage of spending by individual listing and the percentage of spending against the entire account. In addition, advertisers can view reports within a specified time frame and may elect to receive reports on the web or via email on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Back to Top

Can I receive reports by email?
Yes.  You have a choice of receiving reports by email on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Back to Top

Are there tools to limit spending?
Yes.  Search123 has some of the most comprehensive account management tools in the industry, including the ability to set periodic spending limits by listing. Your listings will be activated and deactivated in accordance with your budget requirements.

Back to Top

What are the creative specifications for listings?
The following character limits apply (spaces included):  titles may be a maximum of 50 characters; descriptions may be a maximum of 190 characters;  landing page (target) URLs may be a maximum of 255 characters; and, keywords may be a maximum of 60 characters.  

Back to Top

How long will I have to wait until my listings go "live"?
Unlike any other quality pay-per-click search engine, a listing on our system will go “live” immediately unless it is flagged by our automated system or one of our editors.  If your keyword is relevant to your title, description and landing page, your listing should go live immediately.

Back to Top

How do I track the success of the Search123 traffic?
Our account management tools provide real-time access to information about the performance of your listings. We recommend that our advertisers always use tracking URLs to monitor the performance of individual keywords and keyword phrases against their overall return-on-investment (ROI) requirements.  Our user interface allows you to associate a tracking URL with each keyword.

Back to Top

What are your relevancy requirements?
Relevancy is critical to Search 123. Our marketplace is designed to drive targeted users to our advertisers. If advertisers bid on terms that are not directly relevant to their offering, not only will they be paying for users that are less likely to make a purchase, but the user experience is diminished due to poor results.  While we offer immediate listings to benefit our advertisers, we vigilantly  monitor the editorial integrity of our search results, for the benefit of our users, our many partners, our advertising clients, and our marketplace.  Prior to listing your site with us, please carefully review our Listing and Relevancy Policy.

Back to Top

Are there sites that you will not accept for listing on your engine?
Yes.  We have made a decision not to accept listings from certain categories of websites and we reserve the right to modify this list at any time.  For a list of the types of sites that we do not allow to be listed on our search engine, please see  our Listing and Relevancy Policy.

Back to Top

Do you accept adult listings?
Yes, unless the content of the site falls into one of our prohibited categories as listed on our Listing and Relevancy Policy.  Advertisers with adult content must designate their sites as having adult content as part of the account registration process and must carefully observe our Listing and Relevancy Policy.

Back to Top

Can I automatically display the keyword a user typed into my title or description?
Yes. We call this feature “[K] Insert.” It allows you to customize your listings to include the search query by simply inserting the character string [K] into your title and/or description. Wherever [K] appears, the search term will appear in lowercase letters in that location. Be careful to use this tool only if it makes sense in your site title and description.

Back to Top

How can I promote multiple URLs in one account?
Yes.  Simply create different listings for each URL, then associate relevant keywords to each of those listings.

Back to Top

How many words can I bid on?
You can bid on as many words as you like as long as each individual word is directly relevant to your site title, description and landing URL.  For more information on our relevancy requirements, please see our Listing and Relevancy Policy.

Back to Top

Can I "bulk load" hundreds or thousands of keywords?
Yes.  For advertisers that have offerings that support hundreds or thousands of keywords, Search123 offers a free bulk-loading service. Please submit bulk-load requests and the accompanying Excel spreadsheet to bulkload@search123.com. Our Advertising Services team will review your request, upload your approved listings, and notify you when the process is complete.  This process generally takes up to 3 business days.

Back to Top

Can you help me determine the best keywords for my listing?
The Advertiser Services team would be pleased to make suggestions and to assist you with expanding your keyword list.  This is a free service that we provide for advertisers, no matter their size or the amount they spend.   We are available Monday-Friday 8 am to 5 pm (PST) and can be reached through our contact form or by telephone at 877-77-SEARCH (US only).

Back to Top

Can I set a maximum bid on my listings?
Yes. Search123 was one of the first pay-per-click search engines to offer this feature.  Our variable bidding tool allows advertisers to set a maximum bid and automatically improve their ranking when other advertisers bid for a higher position. This feature allows an advertiser to maintain the top position for a listing without going over their maximum bid or paying more than is necessary at that time.  For example, if the current bid price is $.09, but you are willing to pay up to $.20 to remain in the #1 position, you could set the maximum bid at $.20. When another advertiser comes in at $.12, your bid would go to $.13 automatically, keeping you in the top position.

Back to Top

Is it possible to bid into a specific position?
Yes.  Our user interface allows advertisers to bid into any one of the top-5 positions, but the system does not allow you to maintain a specific position (other than the top position) up to your maximum bid.

Back to Top

How can I reach you?
We are available Monday-Friday 8 am to 5 pm (PST) and can be reached through our contact form or by telephone at 877-77-SEARCH (US only). Our goal is to respond to your correspondence within 24 hours.

Back to Top

Click here to become a Search123 advertiser.