July 19, 2007 | Thursday
KISS: Keep-it-simple search
By Jackie Danicki - Blogger in News |Search Engines |Ask |Google |Yahoo
With the news that Ask.com has improved UK market share considerably of late, things are not getting any more comfortable for Microsoft and Yahoo in the search sphere. For the latter, news from the US is not much better:
Yahoo! has seen its profits fall year-on-year over the second quarter of 2007...or the three months to 30 June, profits were $161m (£86.6m), down from $164m (£88.21) the year before, although the company saw revenues grow by 8% to £1.7bn.
I blogged extensively about Terry Semel’s eventual removal from his position as Yahoo CEO, so you’re probably thinking, “Well, give the new guy a chance.” True, Jerry Yang has only recently taken over the reins. But most industry observers aren’t optimistic about what he’ll be able to accomplish.
What struck me is the difference in tone between the CEO and the analysts covering him. Yang said:
I am focused on doing everything we need to do to strengthen our business, capture long-term growth opportunities and create increased value for our shareholders. By sharpening our focus, speeding execution, building our technology and talent, and investing in key growth areas, we can put Yahoo! on a clear path to fulfill its potential as an Internet leader.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Jordan Rohan said:
This is growing old. I would like to see more immediate changes. Things are looking pretty bleak right now.
Yang uses more - and bigger - words, but Rohan’s packed a lot of meaning into the few he has chosen.
More words that might interest Yang and the rest of the board:
Yahoo was nice when it loaded fast and was simple. Now it’s a bunch of ads and articles about hollywood garbage. Right now - I just went to Yahoo.com. American Express Ad - among many others, Links to Celebrity Videos.... blah.
Hmm...Loads fast and simple, has no ads other than the simple text ones that appear as a result of a user’s search...Sound familiar?
Google - and to some extent, Ask - has this nailed. It is often cited by users as the reason they went to Google in the first place: No pop-ups, no Flash, no graphics in their face, with a clean, uncluttered look and feel.
If Yahoo can pare down its interface and its CEO’s statements to what’s relevant and meaningful, they just might have a chance of turning their ship around.
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