本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Q&A: Yahoo v Google
Yahoo!, the internet directory, is dropping Google as its search engine in favour of its own technology. Microsoft's MSN is also about to introduce its own search engine. Kim Gilmour, features editor at Internet Magazine, puts the battle in to context.
Why has Yahoo! dumped the Google search?
Yahoo! started off as an internet search company before Google existed, but hasn't had the same success in the field. However the $30 billion (£16bn) company has recently bought several respected search engines including Inktomi, All The Web, Alta Vista and Overture so that it can enhance its search facility - still the first thing you see on its sites - itself.
It has said that with its own engine it expects to provide half of all web site search queries in the US through its own sites and those of its partners (whcih, confusingly include MSN).
Is the Yahoo! contract a great loss for Google?
No. Google is making so much money from advertising and so many people use Google that I don't think it will be a massive loss. It would have been expecting Yahoo!'s move for some time. Speculation has put Google's worth on the stock market, if and when it floats, at up to $15 billion (£8bn).
Can Google be challenged?
At the moment I think Google is streets ahead of all the other search engines, but I think that Yahoo! will give Google a run for its money. With its acquisitions it has the ingredients of a successful mix.
Overture provides paid-for links, generating a new revenue stream for Yahoo!. This is direct competition for Google's Ad Words which are sponsored links that appear when you search for something related to that advertiser's business.
But I think it's a two-horse race between them at the moment.
MSN is something to look out for later. Google is so popular and is having great success at creating new revenue streams that it will take time for competitors to catch up.
What sets Google apart from the rest?
It's simple and accurate.
It has a very sparse website – you type in your search word and hit the button, that's it. It just delivers the links you want.
It has a ranking system, using clever algorithms, to see which sites are most linked-to by other sites to show you the most popular sites first that relate to the words you have searched.
How will Yahoo! differentiate itself?
Regarding search, Yahoo! is big on using customer profiles to make searches more relevant to the person searching.
From a pure business point of view, it also already has multiple revenue streams – if offers shopping and music and so on as it is a general internet portal as opposed to the pure search service that is the main Google site.
Where does Google go from here?
Google has started to branch out into other areas, but using separate sites. It has the Froogle price-comparison site for shoppers, for example.
It is looking at branching out into offering community-style features, as the portals have, where it can employ detailed profiling of its searchers. It is delving into these areas, but very carefully.
Google will have to work hard to make sure that its searches are as good as they have ever been to keep its core audience.
What does the battle mean for the internet consumer?
I think people will see a lot of advertising from Yahoo! and MSN about their new services but people may still find that they prefer the simplicity of the Google site.
Which are the top search engines?
I'd say Google, followed a long way behind by Yahoo!, MSN and AskJeeves. But Google is so far ahead, it has something like an 80 per cent market share not least because so many of the other search sites use its engine.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
Yahoo!, the internet directory, is dropping Google as its search engine in favour of its own technology. Microsoft's MSN is also about to introduce its own search engine. Kim Gilmour, features editor at Internet Magazine, puts the battle in to context.
Why has Yahoo! dumped the Google search?
Yahoo! started off as an internet search company before Google existed, but hasn't had the same success in the field. However the $30 billion (£16bn) company has recently bought several respected search engines including Inktomi, All The Web, Alta Vista and Overture so that it can enhance its search facility - still the first thing you see on its sites - itself.
It has said that with its own engine it expects to provide half of all web site search queries in the US through its own sites and those of its partners (whcih, confusingly include MSN).
Is the Yahoo! contract a great loss for Google?
No. Google is making so much money from advertising and so many people use Google that I don't think it will be a massive loss. It would have been expecting Yahoo!'s move for some time. Speculation has put Google's worth on the stock market, if and when it floats, at up to $15 billion (£8bn).
Can Google be challenged?
At the moment I think Google is streets ahead of all the other search engines, but I think that Yahoo! will give Google a run for its money. With its acquisitions it has the ingredients of a successful mix.
Overture provides paid-for links, generating a new revenue stream for Yahoo!. This is direct competition for Google's Ad Words which are sponsored links that appear when you search for something related to that advertiser's business.
But I think it's a two-horse race between them at the moment.
MSN is something to look out for later. Google is so popular and is having great success at creating new revenue streams that it will take time for competitors to catch up.
What sets Google apart from the rest?
It's simple and accurate.
It has a very sparse website – you type in your search word and hit the button, that's it. It just delivers the links you want.
It has a ranking system, using clever algorithms, to see which sites are most linked-to by other sites to show you the most popular sites first that relate to the words you have searched.
How will Yahoo! differentiate itself?
Regarding search, Yahoo! is big on using customer profiles to make searches more relevant to the person searching.
From a pure business point of view, it also already has multiple revenue streams – if offers shopping and music and so on as it is a general internet portal as opposed to the pure search service that is the main Google site.
Where does Google go from here?
Google has started to branch out into other areas, but using separate sites. It has the Froogle price-comparison site for shoppers, for example.
It is looking at branching out into offering community-style features, as the portals have, where it can employ detailed profiling of its searchers. It is delving into these areas, but very carefully.
Google will have to work hard to make sure that its searches are as good as they have ever been to keep its core audience.
What does the battle mean for the internet consumer?
I think people will see a lot of advertising from Yahoo! and MSN about their new services but people may still find that they prefer the simplicity of the Google site.
Which are the top search engines?
I'd say Google, followed a long way behind by Yahoo!, MSN and AskJeeves. But Google is so far ahead, it has something like an 80 per cent market share not least because so many of the other search sites use its engine.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net