Yahoo vs. Google ÷ MSN = Uh Oh!

Yahoo, the old superpower of the search engine world is now going to go head to head with the current superpower of the search engines, Google. Uh-Oh, look out, MSN is starting to play the game too! Ok, let me put it simpler, Google is the super search engine, Yahoo is the super directory and MSN, well, MSN is not much currently (01-24-2004). Stay tuned though, Bill Gates is stirring the pot.

The speculation is rampant about Google becoming a public company. Google is in discussion with investment banks about possible offerings within the first quarter. If this is true, then get your checkbooks ready, and prepare to spend when Google goes live on the stock exchange. It is speculated that it will be one of the biggest events in years on the global exchange. With a possible 1/3rd of the company going up for public investment. What does this mean? Well, unlike other public search engines, Google is all privately owned, which means you don't currently see advertisements on the homepage, etc. Once a public company, just like Yahoo, you may begin to see changes depending on what the public advise. This is exactly why Google has become so popular. It is private and delivers quality results, not quality advertisements. Well, did provide quality results until last November. See the impact. A new look Google that annoys you with a homepage just like Yahoo and MSN. Fight through the rubbish to get to search!

With that in mind, Yahoo over the past year has been conducting its own little monopoly with the purchase of Overture and Inktomi. As Yahoo currently enhance their directory results from Google, it is speculated that once Google go public, as Yahoo already is, then Yahoo are going to drop Google like a hot rock and take up results from their own company assets almost immediately. As Yahoo owns All The Web (ATW), and ATW has the largest web search database, it is unknown whether Yahoo will utilise its own ATW or Inktomi database to provide results to Yahoo search results.

All you had to do was rank well in Google and that transferred to Yahoo with little difference. Ranking well in Google will not have any impact on Yahoo in the near future. If your website is not optimized to perform across this wide range of engines, and included within their results, then your in trouble. Yahoo will utilise Inktomi results as it wishes and sell the results to other engines as currently occurs. The good news is, my customers don't have to worry as my work is never specific to one search engine. I guess that Yahoo paid submissions will once again increase to be listed within their directory. Once officially announced, if Yahoo go with Inktomi, then their price may go up and let the wars begin at Inktomi for rankings.

If Yahoo kicks Google into touch, then guess what? Surprise, surprise, it will also kick Looksmart Australia over the fence from supplying paid sponsored results to them. Yahoo, owning Overture, will utilise Overture results in Australia very soon as they already do in most other countries. Yes, Overture has plans to open in Australia very soon. Hopefully the picture is starting to come together for you.

Here's the left field player, MSN. MSN are starting to play the game with Internet search and pay a little more attention to their search features and services. MSN have been supplied by Inktomi, but wait, MSN now have "MSNBOT" crawling around the web building a substantial database for themselves. Now with MSN releasing some impressive features lately, targeting broadband users, it is anyone's guess what is to come next. I believe that Bill Gates has not bothered before because he's been too busy monopolising world IT and Internet browsing.

Searching the internet is about to get a whole lot more funkier. Good old Bill Gates and his little family, Microsoft, are paying some attention to their own Internet features. Lets see now, Google - "x" Billion dollar company, Yahoo - "xx" Billion dollar company and whoo..... Microsoft, I mean MSN - "x" Trillions of dollars. With Google and Yahoo possibly splitting and Microsoft coming up behind real quick, I somehow think MSN may end up the superpower of search engines in the coming years. Money wins, lets face it. Google can have all the PageRank they want, and Yahoo all the other engines they want, but lets face it, Bills money will buy technology and supremacy if need be.

In conclusion, all those listed with Google will now have to concentrate on Yahoo submissions and ranking to remain listed within Yahoo. You will also need to keep abreast of whatever Microsoft comes up with. No longer will there be one clear winner, but possibly three (3) search engines going head to head to win users. Some SEO's are about to get a real wakeup call.

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