Pressure on Google as Yahoo! unveils search technology

by Staff,, Brand Republic 19-Feb-04, 08:00

NEW YORK - Competition in the search engine market has kicked up a gear as Yahoo! unveils its new search technology, which will replace Google on its site, with claims that it will provide more comprehensive and more relevant searches for users.

The news of the Yahoo! launch follows the announcement by Google that it has expanded its web index to more than 6bn items, including 4.28bn web pages.

The search market is set to become more competitive as paid-for search terms prove to be a growing stream of revenue for companies. It is this competition that has led to Yahoo! splitting with Google and relaunching its own search technology. Microsoft is also reported to be investing in its own web search product.

Yahoo! Search is differentiating itself by bundling other Yahoo! services with it, such as using its SpamGuard technology to help filter out irrelevant or low-quality search results. It will also soon include personalisation via My Yahoo!.

Jeff Weiner, senior vice-president of Yahoo! Search and Marketplace, said: "Within the next few weeks and months, consumers will continue to see improvements to Yahoo!'s search technology in addition to advancements in search personalisation and other user features."

Google has said that it is ready for the new levels of competition. The company has an estimated 35% of the search market share and is widely reported to be mooting an IPO that could raise as much as $20bn (£10.5bn).

In an interview with Reuters, Google co-founder Sergey Brinn said: "There's a new level of competition and we need to take it seriously. We're definitely seeing much more attention going to search from Microsoft and Yahoo"."

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