Yahoo!'s New Search Engine - Yahoo Search is NOT the same as Inktomi

Submitting a URL to Inktomi is valuable because the results would feed MSN Search, at least until MSN Search develops their own search engine. In addition, an Inktomi submission would provide results to About.com and other partners.

However, the interesting thing about Yahoo and Inktomi is that, at least according to industry insiders, the new Yahoo Search is not a simple copy of Inktomi but rather an evolved, advanced form of Inktomi. As proof one can consider comparing the search results provided by MSN and HotBot both of which serve Inktomi results – they are certainly different from the results provided by Yahoo Search.

There are even claims that Yahoo will stop using the Inktomi database or paid inclusion after April 15 when a new Yahoo paid inclusion program will be made available.

This is what one of Inktomi partners, PositionTech.com:

“IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT INKTOMI SEARCH SUBMIT:

"Yahoo! Search has transitioned to its own search technology and is preparing to launch a new inclusion program. As a bonus for Search Submit customers, Yahoo! Search is providing a free trial of Yahoo! traffic that will end on April 15, 2004.

"When the new inclusion program launches, Search Submit customers will have the option of joining the new program for ongoing participation in Yahoo! Search results.

So what are we to do with all this confusing information? My opinion is to continue using Inktomi at least for the benefit of appearing in the MSN Search results and to have one’s options open for the April 15th planned introduction of Yahoo Search paid submission. Nobody knows if paid inclusion in Yahoo Search will be more expensive than the $39 Inktomi currently charges per URL, so putting some portion of your marketing budget for the new big search engine player would be wise.

Yahoo!'s New Search Engine

On February 18th, Yahoo launched its new search engine, Yahoo Search, a mix of technologies built around its subsidiaries Inktomi and Overture Services, and replaced Google as search engine results provider. A day earlier, Google officially announced that it had reached an important milestone with immediate access to more than 6 billion items, including 4.28 billion web pages, 880 million images, 845 million Usenet messages, and a growing collection of book-related information pages. Why would Google brag about its leading position at this auspicious time? Because changes are coming

Such changes will have immediate impact on search engine rankings and traffic as the main search engines' market share is anticipated to change dramatically.

According to a Nielsen//NetRatings report released on February 23rd, search engine use in the United States increased to include one of every three Americans or, 39% of the US population! Specifically, 114.5 million unique users turned to search engines to find information about products and services in January, and each spent nearly 40 minutes there.

The heavy usage of search engines in January was no different from the reliance on search engines during the 2003 holiday shopping season:

• 36 % of those surveyed said they used Google during the shopping season
• 25 % used Yahoo! Search
• 14 % used MSN Search
• 5 % used either AOL or Ask Jeeves.

Not surprisingly, the top five search engines in January were:

• Google (59 million visitors)
• Yahoo Search (46 million)
• MSN Search (45 million)
• AOL Search (23 million)
• Ask Jeeves (13 million)

What the Nielsen report did not indicate is the intricate connections between the main search engines and the results they provide to their partners. In January, Yahoo used to show the organic search engine results provided by Google. MSN Search provides organic search engine results provided by Inktomi, a Yahoo company. And AOL Search shows Google-provided search engine results. This complex interdependence between the main search engines makes current changes in the web search market place more intriguing.