Yahoo!'s New Search Engine - In conclusion

Yahoo dropped Google and this will impact anyone’s traffic. Instead of search results provided by Google, Yahoo is serving its own search engine results. They are different from the ones provided by Inktomi although Inktomi seems to partially feed results.

While we all wait to see what happens on April 15, when Yahoo will announce its own new paid inclusion program for Yahoo Search, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having one's web site submitted to Inktomi. In addition to partially feeding Yahoo Search, Inktomi currently provides search results to MSN Search, About.com, and others.

All these changes in the search engine market place should remind us all once again how important it is to monitor and maintain one's search engine rankings.

Should you have any questions about how these events will impact your web site's search engine rankings, feel free to contact WebSage.

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 - Yahoo Replaces Google as Search Provider

The impact of Yahoo replacing Google as search engine provider can be enormous on anyone's web traffic. Until now, according to comScore Media Metrix, a Nielsen//NetRatings competitor, Google boasted market share of around 79% which included 16% through the AOL partnership and 28% through Google's agreement to provide search results at Yahoo's portal.

Yahoo, on the other hand, through its Inktomi subsidiary, has been providing search results to MSN. In addition, Yahoo through its Overture subsidiary owns AltaVista and AllTheWeb. The switch from Google-provided search results to Yahoo's own search results at Yahoo Search implies a major shift in search engine market share -- from 28% to 51% for all Yahoo search properties and partnerships.

While nobody argues the dominance of Google as the top search engine, now that Yahoo provides its own search results, it is only logical to anticipate that Google's position will be diminished. This leaves Yahoo and Google as the two main search engine providers, leaving Ask Jeeves (and its Teoma subsidiary) with 3% market share and 2% for all other search engines.

What if you are not included in Yahoo's index?

Currently, Yahoo provides two options to get your web content indexed in its new search engine: by using a free URL submission box available to its registered users (you would need to login to Yahoo to access that feature), or by using Yahoo's paid inclusion program, Inktomi.

Yahoo claims that submitting a web link via the free URL submission box is considered only "suggestion" and not a guarantee that the page will be added to the index.

The only guaranteed way to have your content included is to use the Inktomi paid inclusion program. The pricing for Inktomi paid inclusion is as follows:

1st URL - $39
URLs 2-1000 - $25 each

Yahoo has not commented on the fate of its other search engines, AltaVista and AllTheWeb, which were acquired through the Overture purchase last year. Currently only the Inktomi inclusion will feed search results into the new Yahoo Search index.

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.

Custom Web Design Introduction

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Online Marketing Services

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VietSmall’s proven SEO strategy is designed to increase the overall traffic to your website. Our process involves the following crucial steps to help ensure that your website won’t be hidden in the cyber jungle:

• Keyword and key phrase research to identify terms that have the most relevant traffic patterns based on the content of your web pages and your target audiences.
• Creation of title, header tags, description and other meta data using selected keywords and phrases. Title tags, h1 tags, and content are what the search engine spiders use to evaluate the relevancy of pages.
• Content creation and/or recommendations. VietSmall may recommend changes or additions to existing or proposed content. We may also suggest additional content be developed to make the site more attractive to search engine spiders and human searchers.
• Link solicitation from relevant websites, directories, and resource sections. Page rank algorithms often analyze inbound links to decide on the importance of a particular web page
  

Web Maintenance & Monitoring

This service is recommended either in conjunction with web design and development services or to enhance the visibility of your existing online marketing efforts.

Prior to designing a customized strategy for your website, VietSmall will perform an initial assessment. This assessment will look at how competitive the field is, what techniques are commonly used by the top competing sites, and what the traffic levels are for the targeted audiences. We will look at current programming choices and those being made in any redevelopment of the website. The outcome of this initial assessment will determine how much time we will propose for each area of the SEO campaign.

The deployment of the SEO strategy consists of two phases. Phase I consists of market research that is designed to ensure that your website is properly optimized and submitted to appropriate search engines and directories. The second phase involves additional research and focuses on a link-building campaign to achieve higher rankings and provide more direct traffic.

VietSmall’s proven SEO strategy includes the following basic services:

• Identification Of Keywords & Key Phrases. Identifying the key phrases used by target audiences is critical to any SEO campaign. We use a combination of traffic analysis and user interviews.
• Creation of Metadata Titles, Tags and Content. The primary mechanism for obtaining high rankings is developing relevant content. Such content must be presented to search engines using the proper page titles, tags, and opening phrases. We will provide tags and titles and suggest phrases to use in opening content.
• Submission to Search Engines & Directories. Once the new site has been completed, we propose submission of the site to several major directories and search engines. In some cases, this submission process will involve a fee to be paid by the client. A list of potential fee-based submissions will be given to the client for approval.
• Link Solicitation. One of the primary ranking factors used by search engines is an analysis of sites that are linked to the page in question. Similar to a citation analysis, this method measures certain links as authoritative and gives a relevancy score to a page based on that. VietSmall will investigate websites that link to related sites, or because of a strong content match, should link to this type of material. We will solicit links from such sites, providing back-links where appropriate.
• Rank Reporting. VietSmall will conduct an initial ranking report eight weeks after the site is completed. Additional reports can be generated at the unit pricing indicated in the table below:
  

SEO Maintenance

A significant improvement in rankings will be obtained if the following steps are implemented in addition to the basic strategy. Link building will also increase the perceived authority status of the website, as well as provide independent traffic.

• Keyword Research. Additional ongoing keyword research, in order to uncover new opportunities.
• New Content Generation. Development of additional content targeted at potential traffic phrases. VietSmall will suggest content themes. VietSmall can provide excellent copywriting services at an additional cost.
• Link Solicitation. One of the primary ranking factors used by search engines is an analysis of sites that are linked to the page in question. Similar to a citation analysis, this method weights certain links as authoritative and gives a relevancy score to a page based on that. VietSmall will investigate websites that link to related sites, or because of a strong content match, should link to this type of material. We will solicit links from such sites, providing back-links where appropriate.
  

Monitoring & Updates

Once initial design has been completed, VietSmall will monitor the rankings of the website with all major search engines, as well as the identified key-phrases for traffic variations. When there is either a drop in rankings or an opportunity to raise traffic because of shifts in key-phrases used by searchers, VietSmall will include suggested strategies along with the ongoing report.

Because of the lag time in search engine response to changes, VietSmall recommends the creation of the following reports quarterly:

• Rank Reporting. VietSmall will run a report on the ranking of the website with the major search engines and directories for up to 20 key phrases that represent the targeted audiences.
• Traffic Analysis. VietSmall will analyze the number of searches being conducted by users for the selected key phrases and for similar key phrases, with a view to identifying any shift in search behavior.
• Strategy Development. Using the results of the rank and traffic reports, VietSmall will evaluate the progress of the current optimization strategy and suggest any changes in content, titles, and submission as necessary.