the search engine could come back from the dead
Although Yahoo (formerly Yahoo!) still exists as a search engine, its popularity has waned greatly over time. However, we’re seeing more and more signs that search is making a comeback.
Google still dominates the online search market. Behind it are more secret search engines like Yahoo. However, it had its heyday until ten years ago (already!). More tips collected by Search Engine Land tell us if Yahoo can return to the front of the stage soon.
Job posting posted by Yahoo
The first clue is nothing more than a job offer for the position. Senior Product Manager, Yahoo Search“. It was published a few weeks ago and reads:We are looking for a Search Product Manager at Yahoo. We’re looking for people who want to push beyond the status quo to change the way people use and interact with search.»
This product manager will have the challenging task of developing research roadmaps and leading teams. Yahoo adds this:In our search experiences, you will determine what is a priority for our customers“. Brian Provost, the company’s general manager and vice president, re-shared the announcement on LinkedIn and wrote for him, “There will be many innovations in research in the coming years, and there are not many places where you can have such a big impact right away.“.
An experienced CEO at the head of Yahoo
What is particularly noticeableSearch Engine Land, Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzo, who took over to lead the company in September 2021, has an interesting background. He worked there for seven years at Ask.com, rising to the position of CEO in 2006. During those few years, he was able to bring several innovations to the service in terms of search. He was also the CEO of CBS Interactive and later Tinder.
Greg, I think you and Barry know – there are always new ways around the mountain. There is no reason to go straight. But we’re excited to start exploring again… and we’ll be patient to figure it all out.
—Jim Lanzone (@jlanzone) January 31, 2023
Jim Lanzone seems confident in Yahoo’s strong comeback, as he said on Twitter: “we are excited to start exploring again… and we will be patient to discover everything“.
Yahoo Search reactivates Twitter account
for a few days Yahoo Search account on Twitter reactivated and posted new tweets. One says:We’re just here to remind everyone that we did our research before it was cool.»
Just dropping in to remind everyone that we searched before it was cool.
BRB makes it cool again.
— Yahoo Search (@YahooSearch) January 20, 2023
What is Yahoo preparing to return to online search?
While there are no clues yet to predict what strategy Yahoo will employ to make a comeback, we can still make some guesses.
Google is a generalist, itscompetitors(i.e. other companies in the same market but not necessarily taking share) many try to differentiate themselves. For example, there’s Ecosia for environmental awareness, Qwant for ad targeting, or DuckDuckGo for privacy. We can imagine that Yahoo is also trying to move away from Google to reverse the trend.
A search engine can address environmental or privacy issues, two topics that Internet users are increasingly aware of. Another big innovation we’re looking forward to in online research right now is the arrival of AI chatbots for research. In short, ChatGPT is connected to the Internet. We know that Google is working hard on AI and Microsoft wants to integrate ChatGPT with Bing. Chinese giant Baidu is developing a similar system that is not based on GPT-3.
Yahoo may follow suit, though the transaction raises profitability questions. Managing an AI like ChatGPT requires significant computing power. Additionally, the search bot’s responses may not include advertisements, which may put search engines that add it at risk.
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