Yahoo Search – it does still matter

January 18, 2010
by Duncan Fisher

With all the fallout from the Bing / Yahoo deal and less than favourable trends last year, you could be forgiven for expecting Yahoo Search to continue to lose UK market share in 2010. Depending on which reports you read, it has dropped considerably from between 8 -9% to between 5 -6 % of total search engine share in the UK during 2009.

There are signs that Yahoo is still committed to its search product though, with recent releases of new functionality as well as more planned throughout 2010. One of the recent releases is the new Network Distribution feature that allows an advertiser to segment targeting between Yahoo’s own search pages and its partner sites. This will mean the ability to assess the traffic quality of the different networks and adjust bids accordingly. Currently this feature has been tested outside of the UK but with it due to hit the US soon, we shouldn’t face too long a wait until we have it on these shores.

With further commitment to the advertiser from Yahoo, we have seen the introduction of a more advanced campaign management tool that will allow a smoother transition for PPC accounts to be shifted from other search engines to the Yahoo Search management interface. This should encourage advertisers to use Yahoo that have been less willing to take the time out to do so previously.

So what about the user, how can Yahoo get its customers to start using its search function more (highest search term is Google….)? Well they need to start talking more about their improvements being made to drive more relevant results as well as products like Yahoo search assist / search pad etc. More PR is expected throughout 2010 so there’s hope!