Source: Wikipedia
Although Yahoo might rank behind Google in terms of its search engine and ad network, one thing is for sure - its Search Assist feature blows even Google Suggest out of the water. Yahoo has made a strategic decision to implement a tool that improves the accuracy and speed of search. This comes from their belief that people don't really want to search, but rather they search in order to "get things done". Enter Yahoo Search Assist...a slick-looking Autocomplete feature that offers stunningly accurate search suggestions. While it's not surprising that the design of the tool is more attractive than Google's, what is surprising is that the suggestions are much more relevant to the actual query that the user is typing into the search box. If you see the Google Suggest pic attached to the previous article you will notice that when I type obama all the suggestions begin with that word. This being the case despite the fact that it's obvious that I'm searching for information on "Barack Obama". This is where Yahoo trumps Google - notice how when I type "mccain" into Yahoo the autocomplete box offers me suggestions such as "John McCain" and "how old is John McCain" - in one word, brilliant. Not only is this a more accurate suggestion, but Yahoo also offers me suggestions that peak my interest and will consequently lead to more page views. All in all, I am getting a better overall search experience than is the case with Google.
Maybe instead of the conspiracy theory I claimed in my Google Suggest post, the real reason that Google doesn't want to add Google Suggest to its homepage is because they can't stand the thought of having an inferior product to anyone, let alone Yahoo. Whatever the case, and despite the recent turmoil surrounding Yahoo, I firmly believe that this feature will help Yahoo in the long haul. Because when it comes down to it, the best way to improve the accuracy of search results doesn't lie in creating more sophisticated crawlers, but rather in improving the search query. Larry, Sergey - you listening?
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