Andy Beal reported recently that Tim Mayer of Yahoo confirmed that Yahoo’s using a search technology that is not actually Inktomi.
Beal speculates that Yahoo Search is an advanced form of Inktomi, as it doesn’t match results at HotBot or MSN (both of which serve Inktomi results).
While this news is interesting to those of us striving for organic inclusion, in that it indicates that Yahoo’s algorithm will differ from Inktomi’s, the issue really becomes interesting in light of an article by Mike Grehan of iProspect.
Grehan, also the author of Search Engine Marketing, wrote that after the 15th of April, Yahoo will “exclude Inktomi paid inclusion URLs from its main results.”
This means that if you’re getting Yahoo traffic now because of your paid inclusion with Inktomi, you won’t after the 15th of April. You will still be listed everywhere Inktomi results are served – MSN and HotBot.
Over at PositionTech, where you can register for the soon to be excluded Inktomi, there’s an announcement confirming Grehan’s article that reads, “Yahoo! has transitioned to its own search technology and will soon launch a new inclusion program. As a bonus for current Search Submit customers, Yahoo! Search is providing a free trial of Yahoo! traffic that will end on April 15th, 2004.”
What to expect:
Garrett French is the editor of Murdok’s eBusiness channel. You can talk to him directly at WebProWorld, the eBusiness Community Forum.
