WebProNews - Yahoo

Microsoft Hires New Head Of Online Services Group

Doug Caverly — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:09:08 -0500

Given all that's gone on at Microsoft lately, it's hard to believe that the company has been running around without anyone in charge of its Online Services Group. That period is coming to an end, though, as Dr. Qi Lu, a former Yahoo exec, has gotten the job.

The Year in Online Video

Chris Crum — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:20:45 -0500

Now that we are in December, the final month of the year, I thought it would be fun to go back through our archives and take a look at some of the highlights of different sectors of our industry, and reflect on everything that has happened over the year 2008. January seems so long ago. So much has happened.

Yahoo Tries To Reroute Navigational Queries

Doug Caverly — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:03:39 -0500

Ask made a rather embarrassing admission earlier this week: its third most popular search term for 2008 was [Google]. Now, although we can't say if a similar exit pattern exists, Yahoo has taken an interesting step towards heading off its own Google-bound visitors.

Did Google Barely Escape Antitrust Charges?

Chris Crum — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:57:21 -0500

As you're no doubt aware, Google and Yahoo had a search advertising deal going earlier this year, but turbulence from possible-antitrust complaints and Department of Justice scrutiny ultimately led to Google backing out of the deal.

Yahoo Set To Introduce New Search Technology In ‘09

Mike Sachoff — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:52:34 -0500

Yahoo says it will introduce new technology next year that will improve the way search results are presented.

Instead of offering links based on a query, Yahoo will provide a summary of information behind a URL. Yahoo's lab in India is developing the technology.

Yahoo To Let CBS Run Internet Radio Business

Doug Caverly — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:03:27 -0500

Yahoo's plate is more than full at the moment; between battling Google, losing its CEO, and facing takeover rumors, figurative food is piled to the ceiling. It makes some sense, then, that responsibility for Yahoo Music's Launchcast Radio is getting largely handed to CBS.

Yahoo Suggestions for Image Search

Chris Crum — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:00:08 -0500

You're probably familiar with Yahoo Search Assist. It's their version of Google Suggest, even though it came out first (at least as a default feature on the search engine). It suggests search terms as you type in your query. In case you are too lazy to continue typing, you can click on one of the suggestions provided and get to your results.

Corporate Wolves Circle Yahoo's Goose

Jason Lee Miller — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:48:25 -0500

Alright, my first prediction for 2009: Yahoo gets carved up like a Christmas goose. No more corporate pussyfooting, no more billionaire shouting matches, just the stealthy, calculated approach toward the crippled wheezing of the would-be carrion. Soon it will all be over in a rush of feathers and blood.

Ex-AOL CEO May Have A Mind To Buy Yahoo

Doug Caverly — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:01:05 -0500

Jon Miller knows a few things about Internet companies and large amounts of money; he was the CEO of AOL for around four years, and is a founding partner of the Velocity Interactive Group investment firm. So try to at least not fall out of your chair laughing when we say he might attempt to buy Yahoo.

Yahoo's Top Search Terms of 2008

Jason Lee Miller — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:20:26 -0500

Some years from now I’ll be recounting the pivotal year of 2008 to my daughter as she seeks to understand the world into which she was brought. Perhaps Yahoo’s review of the top search terms will aid us in our investigation of that world, and help her decide whether 2008 was a good time to be born or not.

I’ll have to tell her that in 2008, Yahoo searchers were still more interested in Britney Spears and professional wrestling than the first African American President of the United States.

More Microsoft Yahoo Gossip

Chris Crum — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:40:13 -0500

It seems that people really want Yahoo and Microsoft to get a deal done. Almost every other day it seems, rumors surface and are just as quickly shot down regarding the two companies and a possible transaction that could put a thorn in Google's side.

Yahoo's the BOSS of Vertical Lens Technology

Chris Crum — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 08:30:32 -0500

Today, Yahoo has announced a new Yahoo Search BOSS capability called vertical lens technology, which enables partners (often with no search expertise) to create a comprehensive vertical search engine that compliments their core user experience.

For example, TechCrunch has launched a technology-flavored search engine as Yahoo cites as its first example. This search engine allows TechCrunch users to search for technology-focused articles and company info across TechCrunch's network as well as the web, a Yahoo representative tells WebProNews.

Cyber Monday Tips from the Google AdWords Crew

Chris Crum — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:03:27 -0500

And Cyber Monday edges closer still. We're at about five days now. Of course, we've still got Black Friday to deal with and last year shoppers spent around $531 Million online just on that day. Follow Amazon's example and get ready for that.

Google Increases Internet Search Share

Mike Sachoff — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:57:47 -0500

Google continues to dominate the U.S. search market share and in October it accounted for 63.1 percent of all searches, up from 58.5 percent in the previous year and up slightly from 62.9 percent in September according to comScore.

Yahoo landed the second spot with 20.5 percent, a decrease from 22.9 percent a year ago but up from 20.2 percent in September.

Microsoft ranked third with 8.5 percent in October, the same percentage it had in September but down from 9.7 percent from October 2007.

Microsoft Live Search to Be Rebranded?

Chris Crum — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:08:53 -0500

Rumors have been flying around about a possible rebranding of Microsoft's search engine from Live Search to a few other names that Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet reported on. Names being tossed around include: Bing, Hook, and Kumo (which means "cloud" or "spider" in Japanese).

Foley went after the public opinion on which one would be best and the results so far are as follows:

Yahoo Unloads Kelkoo

Chris Crum — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:52:20 -0500

Yahoo-owned comparison shopping site Kelkoo is Yahoo-owned no more. The European service was founded in 1999 and purchased by Yahoo in 2004 for €450 million. Prior to that it had been involved in deals with both Microsoft and Ask.

Tips For Online Retailers Preparing For Cyber Monday

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:17:00 -0500

With the official holiday shopping season beginning next week, U.S. retailers expect "Black Friday" (November 28 this year) sales will grow 1.2 percent.

For "Cyber Monday" the first Monday after Thanksgiving, retailers expect to see growth of 2.4 percent, according to a study from BDO Seidman.

Online sales are projected to grow 8 percent and gift card sales are expected to grow 5.1 percent.

Yahoo Adds eBay Application To Homepage Test

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:21:51 -0500

Yahoo has added a new eBay application to its homepage it has been experimenting with since September in an effort to open up to third parties.

The eBay application can be found in the "My Applications" dashboard area on Yahoo's homepage.

Yahoo Powers New T-Mobile Service

Chris Crum — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:08:11 -0500

Yahoo announced that its oneSearch mobile search engine will be the engine of choice for T-Mobile's new web2goSM service, which is aimed at providing a better mobile web browsing experienc

Yahoo Glues Together Relevancy

Chris Crum — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:17:47 -0500

Yahoo has released the beta version of a new service called Yahoo Glue. What Yahoo Glue does is piece together results from different popular sites and bring them to you on one page. For example, a search for an NFL team will bring up results from Wikipedia, Yahoo Sports (including stats, rosters, schedules, etc), YouTube, Yahoo Maps, Yelp, Flickr, Yahoo Groups, and Yahoo Answers.

Ballmer Ignores Yang, Rules Out Yahoo Acquisition

Doug Caverly — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:10:18 -0500

Even the harshest critics of Steve Ballmer will have to admit one thing: in regards to not buying Yahoo, he's been consistent for a long time now. At a shareholder meeting today, Ballmer said that he still has no interest in a total acquisition, and Yahoo's stock has taken a nosedive of around 20.9 percent as a result.

Key Terms Integral To Yahoo's Open Search Initiative

Chris Crum — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:12:21 -0500

Yahoo has announced the availability of the "Key Terms" feature for BOSS. For those of you unfamiliar with BOSS, the company describes it as the following:

DivX Sues Yahoo

Doug Caverly — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:58:50 -0500

We all know that Yahoo's looking to cut costs. Now, according to a new lawsuit filed by DivX, the search company went a little too far and backed out of two-year advertising services agreement. DivX would stop receiving payments as a result.

Blogosphere Lights Up As Jerry Yang Steps Down

Doug Caverly — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:35:18 -0500

If you haven't heard the news from another source, you probably could have guessed it by watching Yahoo's stock price. Shares have risen about 12.6 percent in pre-market trading on the official announcement that the search for a new CEO is underway.

Why Yahoo News Was Number One on Election Night

Chris Crum — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:09:27 -0500

You may have heard that Yahoo News was the most popular site on the night of the United States Presidntial Election ten days ago. Now comScore has confirmed this along with some numbers for other sources making up the top five:

AOL Still Reaching Record Numbers

Chris Crum — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:07:53 -0500

You would think that the growth of broadband usage would take away from AOL's business. That and the fact that they've been closing down services like mad. Despite these things, AOL has managed to hit an all time high when it comes to traffic numbers, and has experienced year-over-year growth for unique visitors for the 21st month in a row.

The following AOL sites reached all-time high page view numbers in October:

Pubcon: SEO Strategies Various Companies Have Employed

Navneet Kaushal — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:42:38 -0500

This session had the various speakers highlighting the SEO/SEM strategy their companies have employed, the challenges they have faced in the field as well as the areas that need to be worked upon.

Moderator:

Joseph Morin

Speakers:

Apple Rumor Mill Working Overtime

Chris Crum — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:28:30 -0500

Michael Arrington at TechCrunch asks if Apple is building a search engine, pretty much creating rumors and squashing them all within a few paragraphs. The story is interesting to note, though.

New Yahoo Homepage Moving Forward

Doug Caverly — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:28:09 -0500

The launch of a handy dandy new Yahoo homepage may not be too far off now. A member of the team responsible for its redesign has posted an update, and it sounds like all sorts of progress has been made. Bucket testing is underway, too.

Ad Testing Tips From Yahoo

Chris Crum — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:30:13 -0500

Google's not the only one passing out some tips to get businesses ready for the holidays. They recently offered some tips for utilizing Google Analytics, Google Checkout, and of course, the ever-popular, Google AdWords. Had their deal with Yahoo gone through, you may have been able to incorporate some of these tips with Yahoo's advertising platform, but it seems that it was not meant to be.