Having the ability to label and refine search results is quite the hot topic among the search industry. Because search results can number in the millions, plus the fact that they can be quite convoluted, the ability to weed out unwanted results is much desired.
Apparently, it’s this mindset that drove Yahoo to introduce their newest search feature: Yahoo Mindset. Coming live from the Yahoo Research Labs, Yahoo Mindset introduces a slide function that allows users to sort their query results.
The slide control offered by Yahoo Mindset allows users to sort their results to favor either commercial or informative results. When the slide is used, the results change to reflect your decision. If you are satisfied with the results as they are, you can keep the slider in its present position, which defaults to the middle.
By sliding the button to the left, you are indicating you prefer commercial results, while the opposite is true by sliding it to the right. Of course, a 50/50 position gives users just that, a mix of informative and commercial results.
Yahoo’s rationale for Yahoo Mindset is simple: sometimes you want to buy stuff and sometimes you want to learn stuff. Hence the mindset title.
To test their product, I did a test on the keyword “DVD“. When the bar was positioned all the way to the left, Amazon.co.uk took the top organic position. When it was slid to the right, the top position was taken by The Official DVD Decrypter Website. This indicates Mindset seems to work as advertised. DVD Decrypter is a site devoted to the back up of DVDs, while Amazon UK is obviously known for sales.
One thing that did not change no matter where the slider was positioned was the relevant search ads. These remained constant.
For more information about Yahoo’s newest search tool, please visit their FAQ, which contains a wealth of information about Mindset.
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest search news.
