Sunnyvale, California — Struggling internet pioneer Yahoo, which has relinquished its search engine to Microsoft two years ago as part of a major overhaul of its business, on Wednesday began a US rollout of a feature called Search Direct, which delivers real time Internet search results as quickly as people can type their queries.
The latest accomplishment was announced yesterday when Yahoo unveiled a refinement that gives users answers to their questions without having to click on the search results.
The Search Direct feature, rolling out in beta now in the U.S., “indicates search results as fast as a person types, character by character, and presents those results dynamically, generating a fast, simple search experience that goes beyond a list of blue links,” Yahoo said in a blog post.
“With today’s launch, direct answers — not the search results page — is the primary focus,” says Yahoo Search and Marketplaces SVP Shashi Seth. “We are re-jigging the search process and prominently displaying direct answers where search decisions are being made.”
“Search Direct is a clear testimony of Yahoo is still an active player in the search market and an innovator in this space, enabling people to take action faster, find what is most important, and sample what is possible with the next stage of search technology,” he adds.
Search Direct, provides weather forecasts, celebrity biographies and news reports before users finish typing the question. “Search is extremely important,” said Blake Irving, Yahoo’s chief product officer, during a press conference. “Search matters to customers and it matters to us.”
Moreover, a search for “Lady,” on Yahoo anticipated we wanted “Lady Gaga” “Lady Antebellum,” “Foot Locker,” or “Ladybugs,” before completing the query. A search via Google offered similar results — “Lady Gaga,” “Lady Gaga Born This Way,” and “Lady Antebellum”. Additionally, Google offered YouTube video clips as a sidebar, while Yahoo offered news and Wikipedia links.
Search Direct is a great illustrations of how Yahoo has been able to focus on the search user experience despite it search alliance with Microsoft for back-end functions, like website crawling and indexing, Irving said.
If it sounds familiar, that is because it is Yahoo’s answer to Google Instant, which automatically culls up search results as people type their queries. Yahoo’s version goes a little bit further by extending edited information and images just under the search box instead of a page full of links.
In conjunction with the feature’s rapidity, Yahoo believes that Search Direct will attract the attention of end users and boost usage of its search engine. “It is a super-powerful results set,” Irving said.
“I think it is very interesting conceptually,” said Greg Sterling, an analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence. “As for the execution let us call it limited or nascent.”
Here are some of the more new key features for Yahoo Search Direct, condensed from Yahoo’s post:
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Trending Searches: The moment the cursor hits the search box, top search trends appear and are updated every 10 minutes to display the latest search trends.
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Search Previews: Predicts the search term as you type, providing the 10 most likely searches.
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Direct Answers: For many common searches, Search Direct provides instant answers before you click the search button — an address, say, or three-day weather forecast.
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Direct Results: When you scan the search options and find the site you need, Search Direct provides direct access to the site. “No more overwhelming pages of links,” Yahoo says.
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“Rich” Content: For all top searches about sports, top news stories, and finance, Search Direct displays Yahoo content. As an example, Yahoo says you can type “n” to get the Yahoo! News display.
By entering into a search alliance, Yahoo and Microsoft had hoped to better challenge Google and cuts costs. They succeeded in cutting costs, but Yahoo also found its share of Internet searches eroding. While Microsoft is doing the “heavy lifting” of scouring the Internet for information, Yahoo can concentrate on tailoring content to the interests of its more than half billion users around the world, according to Irving.
Search Direct is rolling out in Beta in the U.S. today. The company created a separate search platform for Search Direct, including its own index and algorithms, and mentioned that it will become available across other Yahoo products and other markets later this year.