Optimism Surrounds Yahoo

I find that hard to believe

[grnidone]

Optimism Surrounds Yahoo [usatoday.com]

I read that article, and I can't believe it.

They note that even if Yahoo's core advertising business improves as the economy recovers, it will probably not regain the heights seen during the dot-com heyday, and that investors need to be more realistic.

Advertising is Yahoo's core business? Really? I thought it was a site you use to find information on the internet. I mean, isn't that what most people know it for?

While Yahoo has changed the look of its homepage [msnbc.com] they have done nothing to encourage people to list their sites in the directory or improve their search results. I don't think they have tried to improve their search results since 1997.

I find it difficult to believe that Yahoo will continue to have enough traffic to support advertising on their site if their search results continue to suck.

Are there enough people using their e-mail service to advertise to?

While there are a whole lot of laid-off people looking for work right on Yahoo's Hotjobs right now, I don't believe a whole lot of them will do any online shopping while they are there.

What is there exactly to be optimistic about with Yahoo? I just don't see it.

[JamesR]

Well, they are looking at profits and all the fee services we have been complaining about have helped Yahoo financially. Add to the cuts in other services and from a business standpoint, they have done a pretty good job of keeping themselves from sinking into nothing and getting bought out.

[makemetop]

I don't quite understand the sentiment here.

If a shareholder - I can understand caution. As an SEO, Yahoo is a huge player. Get it right and it is good for thousands of referrals a day (not google.yahoo). In fact, I'm astounded at the search levels - not just from keyword searches - but from category drill downs. One site I do had 23,000 category referrals in June - I was really shocked!

Don't dismiss Yahoo yet - an astonishing number of people who buy use it. A bit like MSN ;)

[wasmith]

If only i could do so well!

[altyfc]

Yeah... Yahoo is a bit of an unknown. I believe it's important to get a good category listing within it. If your site is so specific that you have to select a very specific (and possibly less popular) category, then you possibly won't get huge value from it...

[Napoleon]

It's a question of balance... between placement of advertising and giving the customers what they actually want (which isn't adverts!).

We have seen spectacular falls from SEs that have got this formula wrong (eg: AV, although they are certainly improving again).

Yahoo have to be VERY careful. They are indeed known as a search facility, so if they step one yard beyond the bounds of acceptability, they will suffer big time.

Interesting times for sure, and the present situation regarding the backfill partner makes it even more interesting/risky from a Yahoo perspective.

[mack]

The one thing they does surprise me is that when they re designed the home page, The directory isn't even visable untill you scroll down. surely this is taking their emphasis away from search???

[grnidone]

Mack,

That is exactly what I see: an emphasis away from search. I can't believe Yahoo will continue to be as important for web traffic if the main 'thing' they are known for -- search -- is de-emphasized or even phased out completely.

[mack]

My only guess is that yahoo! are hoping for a recovery in their advertising business. This is possible, because many sites are removing advertising and seeking alternative revenues. Yahoo has stuck at it and as banner ads reduce on other websites their revene may again stabalize.