Monetizing Search Results

Knowledgeable researchers always use at least two search engines for any important query. That usually means Google and either Yahoo! or MSN Search or perhaps A9. Since I use so many Yahoo! tools, I sometimes search Yahoo! first, and am surprised at how often it disappoints.

For example, this morning I looked up Ajax13, which I'd seen mentioned last night in a BusinessWeek article that talks about MS Office alternatives. Yahoo!'s first result was not relevant; the balance of the first page of results was primarily a list of blogs and news that mentioned Ajax13. However, both Google and MSN provided the relevant result -- AjaxLaunch -- as the first result. Amusingly, the same situation applies when I search for this blog, Yahoo! Spectator, by name.

Some folks tell me Yahoo! disappoints because it still relies on results from its Directory (remember when you had to be in it to get any action?), but I see no evidence of that. The sites submitted to the Yahoo! Directory aeons ago no longer appear when I search with the keywords used to index them. Others say webmasters still haven't gotten over the days when submitting to Yahoo! was either a trial by torture or too costly. But that's history. (For the few who don't know, the Yahoo! submission page is here .) And some say Yahoo! is stale -- doesn't have timely results. That's just bull. Check the cache dates.

And then there are the cognoscenti who offer up mealy-mouthed discussions about algorithms. After all, they point out, everyone knows the Googlista run rings around the Yahooligoons. Not! So what's a gal or guy to think?

Anybody want to bet it comes down to monetization? I can't prove it, and haven't the time to test it thoroughly, but my gut says Yahoo! results are prioritized, in part, by how well they pay in Sunnyvale. One sure example: create a PRWEB press release and "contribute" at least $40. There's a very good chance Yahoo! will show it in the top slot for your keywords early on the morning of its release. Google and MSN Search will get to it in a few days, depending on its relevance, and often from a secondary source, not PRWEB.

Anything wrong with monetization? No. But it's nice to know when it's happening!

On My Yahoo! Mail Wishlist

Top items on my wishlist for Yahoo! Mail are speed: Faster loading of the Yahoo! Mail Beta interface and faster loading of folders -- "loading" messages stink. And then there's the cavalier complaint about screen resolutions less than 1024 X 768:

There seems to be a screen resolution problem. Your screen resolution is set below our minimum recommendation. When it's set under 1024 x 768 pixels, the Yahoo! Mail Beta won't look as good.

Hey guys. The problem isn't my screen resolution, it's your design!

One-Click to Block Sender
Okay, so maybe those items were more in the nature of bitches than wishes. Here are two constructive criticisms that will improve Yahoo! Mail in its current and future incarnations. One thing that makes Yahoo! Mail really useful is its excellent SPAM filter. Of course, no filter is perfect, and many of the "misses" come from pests who can be banished by domain. To this end, Yahoo! Mail offers a blocklist (blacklist) of up to 500 addresses. Now what's needed is a one-click option to add an offender to the list. We already have "Add Sender to Contacts;" adding sender to blocklist should be a no-brainer. And how about a larger blocklist for Mail Plus clients?

More and Better Mail Filters
The other thing that makes Yahoo! Mail useful for professionals is that its built on a folder structure. (I know tagging and keeping everything a la Gmail sounds easier, but it's only as useful as the structure in your brain.) Yahoo! makes it easy to create folders and direct mail to them with user-configured filters (and SPAMGuard and AddressGuard). Ad-supported Yahoo! Mail offers 15 filters that sort on the From, To/CC, Subject and Body fields; Plus Mail has 50. Professionals need more, probably closer to 100 filter -- even more if they're not made more powerful. And how about adding power by enabling Regular Expressions? Under the current setup, it takes two filters to implement an OR condition. Note to Yahoo! designers: look at Mailwasher Pro for a really useful filter deployment.