DTC is a paid search engine facility. By using keywords, a person can get the list of sites where he can get the required information he is searching for. This is a paid search facility. The minimum cost per click per keyword is US$.10. People who want to advertise with overture will be aware of DTC. By logging in into DTC a person can manage every aspect of overture campaign like payment method, keyword sponsorships, advertising options and reporting. New ads can be easily created and launched with the section of this site. Their user friendly interface enables the easy managing of the campaigns. A snapshot view of the campaign makes it possible to identify the ad listings that are performing well and that are not performing well so that required steps can be taken to improve the quality of the listings.

DTC is run by both Yahoo and Google. Google’s paid search account structure is set up with Campaigns and Adgroups (sub-accounts) below the Campaigns. The Adgroups contain keywords with ads associated with that group of keywords. Yahoo’s system is different than Google’s in a way that it has only one layer called “Categories” and are straight bid to position. Each key word posses its won ad and click thru rate is not a factor.

However there is some dissatisfaction expressed about Yahoo’s process. This system has been criticized for its slowness, maintenance issues, and its straight bid to position model may not generate the most relevant site for the customer searching for products or information. Big advertisers are not happy with the reporting delays and clunky interface.

# It is excruciatingly slow.
# It has only categories and no sub-categories like Google.
# Reporting of Yahoo’s DTC is 24 hours behind.
# The representatives will not be available when DTC is down.
# Deleted keywords do not get deleted from the memory of Yahoo. It still gives results with those words included and the user is being charged for that.
# Yahoo DTC updates run longer than expected.
# Its straight bid position does not generate relevant sites which the customer is searching for.

MSN’s DTC will be out shortly, which is proposed to have Google’s structures. Further MSN will also have added features like demographics.

In general, all the three search engines have the same structure of accounts that makes them easier to manage.