Microsoft has purchased the innovative travel service “Farecast” for a reported $115,000,000. SeattlePI has more about this breaking story. Farecast uses a predictive algorithm to help users determine if airline ticket pricing is poised to go up or down from the current levels and thus helps to find bargain pricing online.
Rather than develop extensive “Web 2.0″ features internally, it is becoming very clear that Microsoft is trying to fuel their massive new web initiative with cash, buying companies like Farecast (and Yahoo) that can make Microsoft an immediate player in the rapidly evolving More»

Labels: farecast, google, Microsoft, Yahoo, YHOO

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Yahoo and Google are closer than ever to a deal where Yahoo would outsource their search monetization to Google. Google continues to do a much better job of producing revenue from searches - some estimates suggest that Google gets more than twice Yahoo’s revenue per search click.
Yahoo also is continuing to negotiate with AOL as part of Yahoo’s efforts to stave off a takeover by Microsoft.
The Journal suggests that Yahoo’s April 22 earnings report may play a key role in the Microsoft takeover argument. If Yahoo comes More»

Labels: Microsoft, msft, Search, Yahoo, YHOO

Personalized web page startup Pageflakes is running out of cash and is desperately seeking a buyer reports Gigaom. Pageflakes aggregates RSS feeds and widgets in a customizable AJAX-based personal web page.
Pageflakes has around 1.5 million visitors a month and over 200,000 registered users. However that pales in comparison to their closest pure competitor Netvibes. However, the real competitors are Google’s iGoogle, Yahoo’s 360, Microsoft and AOL which too offer personalized web pages. The cost of these services is borne by their core offerings.
However, Pageflakes’s personalized More»

Labels: iGoogle, Microsoft, personalization, Web Apps, Yahoo

Yahoo and AOL are in discussions to combine their web operations reports the WSJ. The move is aimed at thwarting Microsoft’s bid to acquire Yahoo.
The terms being discussed between AOL would fold into Yahoo and make a cash investment in return for about 20% of the combined entity. The deal which does not include AOL’s dial-up access business values AOL at about $10 billion. Yahoo would use the AOL cash investment and put up additional funds to buy back several billion dollars worth of its own stock at a price somewhere in the middle of the range between $30 More»

Labels: AOL, displace advertising, Online Advertising, Search, Yahoo

Yahoo said it plans to carry search advertising from Google as part of a test that could lead to a broader partnership reports the WSJ. The two-week trial, which will be limited to U.S. traffic and no more than 3% of Yahoo’s Web search queries, is designed for the two sides to evaluate the revenue potential of a broader search ad outsourcing arrangement. Yahoo already had been in negotiations to outsource its Web-search advertising in Europe to Google since last year, say people familiar with the matter.
Citigroup More»

Labels: displace advertising, Online Advertising, Search, Yahoo

Yahoo has agreed to acquire IndexTools, a leading provider of web analytics software for online marketing. The acquisition is intended to expand Yahoo’s set of services designed to maximize its clients’ online marketing efforts.
“Yahoo! believes that the ability to generate the most valuable and relevant insights is essential to seizing market opportunities and creating successful campaigns,” said Bassel Ojjeh, senior vice president and head of Yahoo!’s Strategic Data Solutions group. “We expect that the IndexTools’ technology platform will provide our customers the opportunity to more quickly uncover and act on these insights, enhancing Yahoo!’s status as a partner of More»

Labels: index, Search Tools, Web Analytics, Yahoo

A European Commission advisory body on data protection has said that search engines should delete data held about their users within six months reports the BBC.
The proposed rule specifieds that “Search engine providers must delete or irreversibly anonymise personal data once they no longer serve the specified and legitimate purpose they were collected for.”
Google and Yahoo anonymise user data after 18 months and MSN does the same after 13 months. The body said search companies were not “clear enough” on their data protection policy and the recommendation More»

Labels: Microsoft, Online Advertising, personalization, Privacy, Search, Yahoo

Yahoo announced a new mobile search strategy for Yahoo OneSearch at the CTIA Wireless trade show.
Marco Boerries, executive vice president of Yahoo OneSearch said users will get “instant answers to any query, not just web links.” This means that search results will expand from traditional hyperlinks into other media. A search for “New York” could yield subway schedules, for example, or a search for local sushi restaurants could bring up available reservations.
OneSearch will be incorporating voice-enabled technology similar to GOOG411. “Consumers can search for anything, including flight numbers, locations, Web site names, local restaurants, and more, by simply speaking,” More»

Labels: Mobile, Search, Yahoo

Yahoo has launched a web site called Shine targeted at women between ages 25 and 54. The site brings together content from other smaller sections of Yahoo, with original content and syndication deals with the likes of Conde Nast, Hearst, Rodale, Time Inc and others. The content will be focused in nine specific categories: Fashion & Beauty, Food, Healthy Living, Work & Money, Love and Relationships, Parenting, At Home, Entertainment & Culture, and Astrology.
Yahoo reports 40 million women come to the their web site each month and Shine presents an opportunity to serve More»

Labels: niche, Online Advertising, websites, Yahoo

Yahoo has made a change to its homepage which can be considered fairly significant. The internet portal has moved their logo from the left to the center of the page. The logo now sits atop the search utility defying convention. This is kinda like the Google.com classic homepage, however, that’s all Google has on that page - the logo and search box. The personalized Google homepage, however, has the logo to the left of the search text field as the page can potentially have a lot of content depending on which gadgets the user adds.
Yahoo’s header height appears More»

Labels: usability 2.0, user experience, Yahoo, YHOO