Yahoo, the first company to bring search engine into service in 1994, has almost lost it to Google. When asked Yahoo top executives said that Yahoo was never a search company. But search was Yahoo's origin and just because of their faulty policies they are out of market now.
The main reason behind failure of Yahoo even after holding the top place for long 5 years with amazing interface and popularity was its own policy. With time, Yahoo started emphasizing more on Advertisers rather than the people, the users. Rather than seeing the need of users, it fell into the trap of sticky marketing-keep them on the site as long as possible, show them as many ads as possible.
The Yahoo homepage started off as a straightforward directory of the Web and for many years it stayed like that. However, sometime after 2000 it began to get more and more complicated and advertiser-focused. By 2004, there were 255 links on the Yahoo homepage. It had reached a stage of massive, overbearing clutter and pushiness. However, Yahoo did try to refocus, by 2006 there were about 170 links on the homepage and by 2007 it was down to about 140, by 2008 about 120 and by 2009 about 100. But it was too late till then, Google almost captured the search market.
Yahoo must have realized by now that, "This is the age of customer power, customer control, customer dominance. Today, the customer is not king; the customer is dictator."
And after being out of the run they say that Yahoo was never a search company. It is like a defeated army saying that they never wanted to win the war anyway. In fact, they didn't even think they were fighting a war.
The main reason behind failure of Yahoo even after holding the top place for long 5 years with amazing interface and popularity was its own policy. With time, Yahoo started emphasizing more on Advertisers rather than the people, the users. Rather than seeing the need of users, it fell into the trap of sticky marketing-keep them on the site as long as possible, show them as many ads as possible.
The Yahoo homepage started off as a straightforward directory of the Web and for many years it stayed like that. However, sometime after 2000 it began to get more and more complicated and advertiser-focused. By 2004, there were 255 links on the Yahoo homepage. It had reached a stage of massive, overbearing clutter and pushiness. However, Yahoo did try to refocus, by 2006 there were about 170 links on the homepage and by 2007 it was down to about 140, by 2008 about 120 and by 2009 about 100. But it was too late till then, Google almost captured the search market.
Yahoo must have realized by now that, "This is the age of customer power, customer control, customer dominance. Today, the customer is not king; the customer is dictator."
And after being out of the run they say that Yahoo was never a search company. It is like a defeated army saying that they never wanted to win the war anyway. In fact, they didn't even think they were fighting a war.
Yahoo's customer is the advertiser. Google's customer is you and me. That's why Google has been more successful.
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