First Yahoo, now AOL

[bigsefreak]

I think this should be pretty simple for the people at aol to see.

First Google got into contract with Yahoo and got Yahoo's customer base by having a direct link back to google.com and now when Yahoo seems to have learned it the hard way and removed the link - it seems like aol has fallen for the trap - as on every search page, they are showing *colorful* google image.

Also, it should be easy for aol to understand/*think* that there would be no reason for surfers to continue using aol search if they are going to get the same results at google too.

[Shoestring]

It is probably part of the terms of the contract. AOL may be bound to show the logo and link to them, otherwise I'd have to agree.

[taxpod]

This discussion assumes that AOL & Yahoo! have designs on being search engines. I have to argue against that very premise. AOL has never been a search engine. It's always been an ISP/portal that makes trade on ad impressions and e-commerce. How are they going to lose their customer base to Google which right now is a pure search engine? Google isn't an ISP and I haven't seen indications that it wants to be. As for portals, where is the "MyGoogle" feature? yes they are after the same sets of eyeballs as AOL, Yahoo! and a hundred other sites. But look at television. There's room for plenty of channels.

Regarding just Yahoo!, I think it is pretty clear that they don't put much resources into the human edited directory anymore. Their emphasis is on the portal thing and, recently, becoming an ISP via partnerships with telecommunications and other types of companies.

On another level, why shouldn't Google get some logo space if they can negotiate for it? If say the search service is available for any site at $5 million a month but if you agree to post the logo, it's $4 million, that's just part of the bargain.

On yet another level, I know I was introduced to a whole host of SE's and other sites via Yahoo! Yet I never go to those sites anymore because they have nothing to offer me. I believe I would have gotten interested in Google whether their logo appeared on Yahoo! or if they had purchased ads someplace. The reason it stays in my mind is that I like the site and service. I search all the time using Google and my "home" is MyYahoo.com. I still pay AOL some monthly fee for a bring your own access account because I like some of their services (less everyday) so how has AOL and Yahoo! been hurt by showing me the Google logo?

I guess I simply disagree with the premise that providing branding for another site just isn't such a bad thing for either of these giants.