Within the last few months it has become known that Yahoo is no longer accepting applications for their Ambassador Program. This is their program to certify Search Engine Marketers as experts on Yahoo PPC marketing. This is similar to Google’s Qualified Individual’s and Company’s program.
Who wouldn’t want a sales force that costs you nothing and pays you for the privilege of selling your product? That’s what these certification programs are. They are excellent ways to grow your business. Why Yahoo would cancel such a program is unknown but I believe that its a very poor decision.
Further in this post they present a rumor that Yahoo is only discontinuing its Ambassador program for the smaller players and still working with the largest agencies. This is better than nothing but truly demonstrates Yahoo’s lack of understanding of their business. While there is no question that the largest accounts drive the volume of the business, its the smaller guys that typically drive the highest margin business.
Yahoo’s ability to nurture the smallest and most profitable players with a certified expert “sales force” is very valuable. But it seems that Yahoo continues to reinforce Carl Icahn’s efforts by making decisions that hurt rather than help their business.