According to Yahoo News linked here Microsoft has tendered an unsolicited bid for Yahoo that would make it (in theory) a realistic competitor to Google in the search engine world. They are not even in the same league at the moment.
I had posted a couple of weeks ago about Yahoo laying off hundreds and the power of focus. Seems that Bill G. thinks he can bring some focus to them…it will be interesting to see. What will be even more interesting to see is (IF this bid is accepted and I would think it would since it is a large percentage over current stock values…) how they attempt to take on big G.
I will be posting some more in depth thought on how this MAY impact search marketing and search engine optimization efforts in the real estate space as the story develops. I think they will have a difficult time in getting their search results more relevant than Google’s are right now.
There could be some interesting implications to many REALTORS who currently derive much exposure from the search engines.
Stay tuned.
Jay Skinner says:
Thank you for bringing this to the realtors attention. We the realtors have to track what’s going on with the possible Microsoft-Yahoo deal. Thos could affect our marketing and search placement if Microsoft comes with new search engine placement policies.
February 1, 2008 — 1:54 pm
Malok says:
Thanks for the head’s up on this. Staying ahead of the curve for internet search engine presence is a high priority for most persons.
It should be interesting to see if combined, they can create a stronger presence than they have currently as individual engines.
February 1, 2008 — 3:27 pm
Greg Cremia says:
Well I guess that means the end to any relevance that Yahoo managed to bring to the game.
February 2, 2008 — 10:32 am
Eric Blackwell says:
@Greg- I am not sure that they had much to lose in that regard…I did post a more detailed post last night on my ericonsearch.com blog…and some detailed analysis of how this MAY impact paid and natural search is to come…some really boring stuff too, from Wall Street (grin)
Bottomline is that they are losing big time anyway. Combined with MSN at least they can stay above the Mendoza line in the eyes of advertisers, where currently that is not a given–and for MSN it is REALLY not a given.
I don’t think that they will be able to take Google out at all in the short run, but a year is an eternity on the net and a lot can happen. remember that Google has not celebrated it’s 10th birthday yet…not even close.
February 2, 2008 — 11:06 am
San Diego Bob says:
Greg,
Sorry to inform you but Yahoo hasn’t been relevant for years, that is why they were loosing money. In fact, they are increasingly being viewed as the worst of the big three search engines.
A quick search on the big three search engines for any major real estate search term only confirms just how irrelivent they actually are.
February 3, 2008 — 5:04 pm
Ken Smith says:
I really think this would actually make Google stronger. There are a number of reason I feel this way, but one of the most important is that there are just so many people that hate microsoft that they would never use something owned by them. There are loyal Yahoo users that will now leave and go to Google.
February 4, 2008 — 10:32 am
Late Night Austin Real Estate Blog says:
I have been seeing some press about Google trying to help Yahoo avoid a deal with MSN through some kind of partnership. If MSN deals go through will yahoo search be more like msn or vice versa.
February 6, 2008 — 12:10 am