Yahoo is teasing a return to the search engine market years after abandoning it to Google and Microsoft.
Yahoo was once the dominant search engine on the internet, long before Google became a household name, let alone a verb. In fact, Yahoo botched two different opportunities to buy Google, one for a mere $1 million. In the time since those — and other — bad decisions, Yahoo’s search share shrunk, the company’s other prospects dimmed, and it finally outsourced its search to Microsoft Bing. After changing hands a couple of times, the company’s prospects look to be on the rise again.
According to a job posting and various tweets, the internet company is once again ready to take search seriously. The job posting, for a Product Manager for Search, has the following description:
As a Product Manager for Search, you will help develop our search strategy and roadmap and lead its execution. The ideal candidate will leverage strong organizational skills and deep subject matter expertise to partner with design, science, engineering, and other key cross-functional teams. You will determine what we prioritize for our customers in our search experiences and bring the vision to life. You will also lead the effort to discover and amplify content from across the vast Yahoo ecosystem to create new and innovative search experiences across surfaces and for our Search App. The role is also responsible for identifying and documenting product and business requirements and taking them from concept to production, while working with a broad set of stakeholders that include marketing, sales, legal, editorial, design, UXR, and other teams.
In addition to the job posting, Yahoo has also been dropping hints via its Yahoo Search Twitter account.
The company also tweeted about a Search Engine Land article discussing this news.
If Yahoo is truly eyeing a return to the search market, this may be the best possible time. Google is facing increasing headwinds and regulatory challenges to its dominant position, and Microsoft has never been able to mount a major challenge.
With users and lawmakers looking for alternatives and AI-based technologies poised to upend the search industry, Yahoo may finally have an opening to do what it failed to do all those years ago — make a success of search.