Here's a real policy change for YSM (Yahoo! Search Marketing) according to the lastest CJ Wire newsletter from Commission Junction:
After more than six months in the making and much customer feedback and testing, we are pleased to announce that Yahoo! Search Marketing (YSM) has recently updated its editorial policies and will now allow U.S. publishers to direct link to their advertisers. In the past, YSM's editorial policy prevented publishers from linking directly to their advertiser partners and required that traffic be sent first to the publisher's Web site. The new policy eliminates this restriction and opens a much broader search marketing opportunity for publishers.
This YSM policy change is the result of a strong relationship between Commission Junction and YSM. We have spent more than six months working with YSM to enact the new editorial policy and are very pleased that this effort has resulted in changes that are sure to create opportunities for our publishers and advertisers.
We find this policy change exciting on several levels. First, this is a significant shift for YSM and could be a great opportunity for your search marketing campaigns. Second, you heard it here first – YSM has asked us to communicate this change to the affiliate community. Third, the work we've done with YSM on this policy change is just another example of our commitment to listening to and speaking up for our publishers.
Although I'm sure there will be lots of blog buzz heralding this change over the next few days – I won't be dancing in the streets as competition and click prices over at YSM increase and worse, as more affiliates choose a linking method that does nothing to build either their lists or their business in the long-term.