The new Yahoo! Search

Posted October 1st, 2007 at 11:11 pm by Vish Makhijani, Yahoo! Search

 30 Comments / Filed in: Trends & News

Yahoo! began as a human-powered search engine back in 1994. Okay, so it was Jerry and David’s guide to the World Wide Web, but the goal was the same as it is now — give people a simple way to find exactly what they’re looking for, whatever it is they’re looking for. And from those humble beginnings in Jerry and David’s campus trailer, while our search engine has evolved, our mission has stayed intact — providing the best search experience for our users.

Today, we evolve again with the introduction of the new Yahoo! Search. We’ve invested in research, design, and engineering to better understand your intent when you’re searching so we can do a better job of getting you to your answer in one search.

With this launch, we took some liberties with the search box itself, turning it into an interactive experience that senses when you need a hand. In a dropdown window on our home page and on our results page, Yahoo! Search Assist provides both query suggestions as you type as well as related concepts you can explore to get you to your answer by just pointing and clicking. Try it with searches like “energy savings” to see what we mean. In testing Search Assist, we found that users were 61% more successful in completing their task with this new search feature at their disposal.

We also realize that the right answer is often more than a link – it’s a photo or a video. So we’ve integrated this multimedia content directly into the search results to give you a more complete answer. Looking for images of Nepal? You’ll find thumbnails of Flickr images tagged with that query. Typing in “Dove evolution”? Chances are you want to watch the video, which we’ll serve up in your results as an inline video. No need to leave the page — give it a try.

And we’ve continued to improve the Yahoo! Search experience by giving you more of the answers you’re looking for directly on the search page for popular categories like music, movies, travel, athletes, health, restaurants, events, and local information.

This is just the beginning of some of the improvements you’ll be seeing from Yahoo! Search over the next few months. Our mission is to get you from “to do” to “done.” Give it a try and tell us what you think.

Vish Makhijani
SVP & GM, Yahoo! Search

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30 Comments Add your own

Henry | October 2nd, 2007 at 12:48 am

Great! Welcome back to the search industry. Goodbye music industry.

Greg | October 2nd, 2007 at 3:56 am

I do love your new search assistant, at least I did right up to the point that I can no longer read it. You have made the color balck and then used dark letters for the searches to click on. This cannot be seem by anyone with the slightest vision problem.

I work with such individuals and your first model, being colored characters on a white background was a great addition, especially with those that are vision impaired. Now, it is almost 100% unreadable.

I wish Yahoo would work more with disabled persons before making changes that can affect there online experience so dramatically.

Please, at least, give us the option to change the black background, or at least remove it so we have these diabled people still use your site. Please, also, consider working with disabled people when making sich changes. Although disabled, these people, including myself have moeny to spend and use the advertisers on your site frequently. It may pay to work together in the future to get input on such options on your site.

Thank you,
Greg

oh4real | October 2nd, 2007 at 8:34 am

What happened to Mail, In the News, and Markets???

Please re-enable these or I will be forced to use iGoogle as my homepage, since myyahoo is paralyzingly slow and annoying, and never perform another search with Yahoo, or read Yahoo! news stories (with advertising) since that uncluttered page was your only access to my clicks.

regards
oh4real

Raj | October 2nd, 2007 at 8:59 am

Greg, thanks for your great feedback. I’ll pass that on to our product and design team.

Sundeep | October 2nd, 2007 at 12:27 pm

This is good stuff. I would love to see Yahoo getting even more aggressive with the layout of the search results page.

oh4real | October 2nd, 2007 at 12:47 pm

Guess you disapproved of criticism that removing Mail, In the News and Markets from search.yahoo.com would result in users, like me, never using Y!Search again.

Wow, hate to see censorship of critical comments regarding a change you made that you think is so AWESOME that everyone will love it.

Well, reducing search.yahoo.com to the box-only means no more Yahoo! for at least one user. No more clicks on news-items, no more clicks on Markets (Y!Fi), I’ll just stick with the other search company, whose ‘my.yahoo.com’ isn’t as unwieldy of a beast and is 10,000-fold easier on the eyes.

Well, hope forcing users to use MyYahoo to get slightest customization of interface and force ad viewing helps revenues, I really do.

Too bad, though, search.yaho.com has been my home for over 4 years, since it rolled in April 2003.

Rips | October 2nd, 2007 at 2:40 pm

To improve Yahoo! search more than just incrementally I believe you will need to do a more fundamental re-examination on when people search and when they do not.

For example: search for business = connecting a consumer = money for Yahoo!.

However there are some scenarios where the consumer needs information to determine if a business partner/professional is required. Without that information they will not engage any search engine.

Yahoo! should be harnessing the data in theses scenarios to prompt a search - a search that turns a reader into a proactive consumer and then Yahoo can successfully connect the consumer to a geo-targeted search for a business/professional.

No one is doing this and the scenarios are easy to work with and lucrative…

Know | October 2nd, 2007 at 6:13 pm

Hmm these are good improvements. These will definitely help Yahoo gain more recognition in the search engine category. There is still more work to be done though.

For example, if Yahoo had more presence when it came to online advertising, the search engine part of their company would probably flourish.

zugu | October 3rd, 2007 at 1:03 am

My trust in Yahoo! has been shattered many, many years ago. First there was the adware-like Yahoo! Messenger. Actually, it’s full of ads right now, and it’s still a pain to uncheck all the useless stuff in the installer. It’s unstable and is a memory leak by itself, compared to Pidgin or Google Talk. We’re still waiting for the Windows Vista version. Actually, there’s no link to it on messenger.yahoo.com, I had to use Google to find the “windowsvista.php” page.
Then there is the webmail. Yahoo! tortured its users with unbearable 4 MB space limits and annoying flash ads that occupy half of the screen. If it hadn’t been for Gmail, the webmail world would still be in the stone-age.
The new Yahoo! webmail interface is plain horrendous. If Yahoo! will push it onto me, I will immediately terminate my account.

I can’t say anything about the search engine, as I never use it. Don’t get me wrong, I want Yahoo! to be a responsible company, I want it to change, but considering all these issues, I can hardly relate to any product or service offered by Yahoo!.

Cheers.

Mohammed | October 3rd, 2007 at 6:18 am

Greetings:

I am impressed by the new Yahoo Search. I depend on Search at work - however when I type yahoo.com it brings up the portal. I don’t want to display the portal at work. Can you think of a way - maybe yahoos.com to display just the search box. (PS: I don’t want to use the tool bar)

Thanks

Mohammed

=bg= | October 3rd, 2007 at 6:19 pm

can you place the news and mail links back?

Raj | October 3rd, 2007 at 7:23 pm

oh4real. Thanks for your comments. Our research showed that most people went to http://search.yahoo.com just to search and we made the decision to enhance the interface for this purpose.

One power user trick might help. If you type !news, !finance, or !mail into the search box, you instantly go to those Yahoo! properties. And that works for any Yahoo! search box. Hopefully this works for you as a reasonable substitute.

Thanks,
Raj

Raj | October 3rd, 2007 at 7:26 pm

Mohammed. Thanks for your feedback. I’d suggest trying http://search.yahoo.com. It’s just search from Yahoo! and that’s it. And if you look at my reply to oh4real, if you use other Yahoo! properties you can jump right to them by typing a ! in front of their names. !mail goes to Yahoo! Mail, !news goes to Yahoo! News, etc.

Thanks,
Raj

=bg= | October 4th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

can you make that big yellow SEARCH BETTER TRY IT! thing disappear?

Marcos | October 4th, 2007 at 8:47 pm

I’m again. Okay, when people click on the right bar of browser to put down the page he torn the head to right side again, another point.
:)
Marcos

Peggy | October 5th, 2007 at 11:43 am

Glad to see that someonw else doesn’t like that stupid yellow box that says Now With Built In Search Assist SEARCH BETTER TRY IT! I have used Search on YAHOO for years and don’t need to have a yellow box telling me to try it! I want it OFF my computer! And please change the black background on the search assit - I do not have visual problems but it is difficult to read. I am very close to changing my homepage.

bob | October 8th, 2007 at 8:14 am

Hello, I have been utilizing many different search engines waiting to see who might step up and challenge Google and to date YAHOO is getting closer but still has a way to go.

I depend on Search Engnes to help me with Recruiting and I use them daily for many hours. I like the ‘improvements to YAHOO so keep up the effort!

The black background on the search assist is simply not conducive to those of us with vision problems. So please fix it or allow us to make those changes.I canot read the information under the currrent conditions.

Get rid of that YELLOW BOX…how annoying and tacky is that thing?

Do you ever offer Search Training classes on line for novices as well as advanced search folks?

Keep up the good work Google needs competition..are you really it?

Bob

Holly Gunning | October 11th, 2007 at 7:10 am

I use Yahoo for my email, which works fine, but I don’t use it for search, and I’ll tell you exactly why — the items that come up seem to be from like 3 or 4 years ago, not current. It’s like whatever was out on the internet FIRST is what gets picked up. It should be the opposite — whatever is the FRESHEST should come up.

Until this is fixed, I won’t be using Yahoo Search because it’s just not useful to me.

Floyd | October 17th, 2007 at 10:24 am

OK, So, anyone who’s on here regularly knows I have an axe to grind with Yahoo, and I usually whine about their products a lot.

I used this Yahoo search thingee, and I have to say I was impressed. Simple, to the point interface, and a helpful drop down completion menu. Nice. I’m not sure it got me what I was seeking, but as a first impression, I was pleased. I may actually use it.

Thanks for shutting me up.

-Floyd

tinman | November 8th, 2007 at 6:15 am

please get rid of the yahoo search assistant…. It can’t be switched off….you click on the off button but it keeps coming back. It is annoying and frustrating. Also the link to email has disappeared from your page, another annoyance……Google is looking better and better these days….

Nige | December 17th, 2007 at 1:46 pm

It’s obvious yahoo doesn’t listen to it’s customers regarding the useless search results displayed when using yahoo search.Soon they’ll be on top of the scrap heap of useless browsers for messing about with peoples heads and preferences.RIP

andy | January 11th, 2008 at 8:56 am

I really wish that there was a way to permanently disable the new “search assist” without having to be logged in. Also, having to do this twice, seemingly, is rather annoying. I have to first turn it off on the main page, then again when it “senses I’m struggling.” I’m actually considering switching my homepage to google, because even though it doesn’t have the same quality of news, I don’t have to undo a option I’ll never use every time I clear my privacy settings. As an aside rant… when will technology companies like microsoft and yahoo realize that their automation ideas waste more time than not? If I typed a lower-case “i,” as one minor example, I meant “i” 95% of the time. If I paused while typing an item in a search bar, it was because I was distracted not because I want it to guess what I’m thinking… I spend more time disabling these things than I care to think about.

Barbara | February 27th, 2008 at 7:43 am

I have to disable the Search Assist every day on every computer we own for business and personal use. I have tried to permenately disable the feature while signed in, and logged out. Yet, it reappears every day. It is a distraction, and it takes more time than I care to spend for something I never requested. I seems that Yahoo is more littered with each passing day. A clean uncluttered look is much easier to work with. You have the “did you mean” option in the event of a misspelled word. Search Assist is unnescessary. I have started using Google, but I would rather stick with Yahoo since that is where my email is. Please give me a break and help me get rid of Search Assist so I don’t have to notify all of my contacts of a change in email. I’ve been a loyal Yahoo user for years, and I hate to change. Thanks!

Addy Coleman | March 25th, 2008 at 8:57 am

I think Search Assist was a very well thought out addition to Yahoo Search and a very helpful tool in both searching and search planning.

tee nix | April 30th, 2008 at 9:52 am

please tell me how to get rid of search assist. i hate it and cannot turn it off except for the current visit to Yahoo home page. please tell me how to do it forever. yahoo is my home page and search home, but this is beyond annoying. disable should mean disable, not turn off for five seconds, then turn back on. Please fix it where disable means forever. thanks.

Ya-Bing | May 1st, 2008 at 12:21 pm

Hi there,
I’m the (new) Product Manager for Search Assist. Thanks for all of your comments - we’re definitely paying attention. We’re planning on making some changes to the settings very shortly - so I would love to hear your feedback once those roll out. Stay tuned!

Thanks,
Ya-Bing

Layla | May 1st, 2008 at 5:44 pm

I HATE the new search assist feature, and as requested by someone in a prior comment, I would like to know how to disable it forever.

I, too, have Yahoo as my home page and I used to use it to search. Because I can’t disable it (except for the current visit, which means I have to have to turn if off time after time), I use Google now - a LOT.

Please give us a way to disable the frustrately annoying thing.

Joe Dohn | May 3rd, 2008 at 12:35 am

It has started!

Those “for your conveniance..” things!

Is yahoo taken over by microsoft already?

I too HATE the new “feature”, I too would like to know how to disable it forever and ever and ever.

And all those “for your protection” and “for your safety” things to come.

Joe Crowell | June 19th, 2008 at 6:46 pm

Ya-Bing
I understand the need/desire to improve search however I think the database is caching the search terms (keywords) beyond the period that actual content exists. I’ve dealt with problem since search assist was introduced. I think if content no longer exist after two or more years then references along with “suggested terms” should be deleted especially when referring to private not public figures. Not only is this bad in performance terms but if no content exists for the relevant search terms say “bill clinton” and “john doe” … content which is specific and unique for those individuals (not one link with “doe” and “bill clinton”) but all the terms are found and relevant in each link. Also Yahoo should provide a central desk so that the public can request removal of “suggested search terms” which portray a person in a “false light”. I think Yahoo is functioning as a quasi-credit report background check database. The feds provide the public with ability to request removal of false information or damaging information in credit reports but I’m surprised that this issue has not yet surfaced with search assist. I would really appreciate it if your team took a closer look at this issue as it is difficult if not impossible to get someone in Sunnyvale to assist you. Thanks.

martin | July 8th, 2008 at 8:38 am

how do I disable the search assistant forever? It is very frustarting having it popping up all the time, taking up space on my screen and slowing things down. Also, where did the basic email link go? Why does my homepage now default to yahoo uk and ireland? I want yahoo.com back…if i wanted yahoo uk and ireland I would have selected it… yahoo really know how to alienate their customers…. I may start using Google.