Yahoo is also creating their own search boxes to aggregate relevant information for users, and in this instance, I like the way Yahoo is presenting this information. It’s clean, smart and extremely useful. When compared to the Google SERP for the same term, I think Yahoo includes more pertinent information and presents it in a simpler way. What do you think?

*Excerpts from MediaPost Publications’s Search insider, July 23 by Aaron Goldman

I’m Snoozing, I’m Snoring

In the style of It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

I’m snoozing, I’m snoring,

Your search results are boring.

Your market share

is barely there.

Will Cashback get you roaring?

Bostock and Yang Went to Great Pains

In the style of Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill

Bostock and Yang

Went to great pains

To avoid an outright acquisition.

They played tough,

$44 billion wasn’t enough.

Then they retreated their position.

Yankee Google

In the style of Yankee Doodle

Yankee Google took over the town,

It’s PR spin smooth as a zamboni.

Stuck creative in its cap,

Scaring Mad Ave cronies.

Yankee Google keep it up,

Automating media, that’s dandy.

And now finally some transparency,

Now this is really handy.

What does this mean for the internet as we know it? Does Google really need control?

Any thoughts?

UPDATE: 3:26  Yahoo!  announces a non-exclusive online advertising agreement with Google

Microsoft and Yahoo! are now again in purchase discussions, but this time Microsoft is looking to just purchase Yahoo!’s Search business.  These new dealings are creating a great deal of speculation that Microsoft will purchase Yahoo! Search and then….buy Facebook!

O’ what a twisted WEB they weave.  What would these acquisitions mean for the web world?  Would this actually give Google something to worry about? I would love to hear some thoughts (and some clever new merger names).

1. Search engine marketing is growing part of the online marketing mix, and Fathom has industry-leading expertise in this field.

2. Fathom has well-established relationships with all the biggies:  Google, Yahoo! and MSN.  Additionally, they have developed proprietary tools to help track and forecast market trends (Fathom Analytics and Keyword Price Index).

3. With this merger we are undeniably one of the few indepedent, integrated digital advertising agencies.

4.  We now have an full-service office in San Francisco which expands our national reach.

5. Fathom Online is as equally excited as Geary Interactive to capitalize on the projected growth of the interactive industry.

To put it lightly, we are ecstatic about this new partnership, and we cannot wait to move forward and utilize our combined industry know-how to maximize our clients’ campaigns.

…however, the fat lady hasn’t sung yet. People are shorting Yahoo stock thinking they will say no to the unsolicited offer. It will be fun to follow how it pans out. It seems like a very complex deal, with a mix of cash and stock, and it will need to get approved by the FCC and EU.

On the bright side for Google, it may speed up and guarantee the EU’s approval of the DoubleClick Google buyout.

So what does this mean for searchers?

A few weeks back Ars Technica did another posting title “The ‘Google Generation’ not so hot at Googling, after all” after review of a report published by the British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee. The short version of the report is that even the generation that has grown up Googling everything and unaware of a world without Google still isn’t very good at formatting their search queries. Current search engine results pages on the top three engines are fairly straight forward and simple. They got a bit more complex with the introduction of universal search, however they are still a basic and static page. If searchers are having trouble finding what they want now, how will searchers be able to handle dealing with more complex search results with timelines and maps thrown into the mix? Maybe it will create a completely new industry in which you will need to hire search professionals that are highly skilled at sorting through the information via the search engines. Maybe training classes that teach people how to maximize the value of search and search engines will run along side Microsoft Word and Adobe Photoshop courses. Either way it is going to require every searcher young and old to learn how to use the more sophisticated searches to find the answers they are looking for.

So what does this mean for the search industry?

My first thought is that this will extend the long tail of search phrases. Search marketers will need to start thinking about more complex queries with dates and locations. Also, dependent on how the suggested searches are displayed (logically it would be by highest search count to lowest?) it will likely drive up the traffic on the suggested terms that are shown first. Secondly, whomever came up with the “SEO is dead”theory, I think the morphing of search results will give new challenges and opportunities to our industry. Lastly, it will force search marketers to focus even more on creating high quality websites with multiple types of content to stay competitive with their search engine visibility.

Shining in this new Yahoo! search can be a little tricky, though.

First, gaining visibility in a universal search model like this one — which may put a Flickr image next to a news article next to a plain old site listing — is not just about simple organic success. In this brave new world of search, site owners jostling for top spots need to really embrace social and media hosting online.

What does this mean? Two examples — video and images — will give you an idea.

Yahoo! Video: The new Yahoo Search will pull videos from Yahoo! Videos as well as YouTube. To upload your videos to Yahoo Videos, login using a Yahoo! ID and include important search terms in your listings — not only in the video’s title and description, but in tags.

If you have existing content on YouTube, you’re ahead of the game because YouTube videos are set to appear in Yahoo! search results. With YouTube videos as well, make the most of keyword-rich titles, descriptions and tags.

Flickr Photos and Yahoo! Images: Because Yahoo! owns Flickr, and Flickr is currently the market leader in photo-sharing services, it’s a no-brainer that the new Yahoo Search will pull images from this popular service.

Just like Yahoo! Video, you can logon to Flickr using any Yahoo! ID. Successfully listing photos in Flickr is simple — use keyword-rich titles, description and tags, and organize your photos by theme or subject and organize them into descriptive photo sets (digital photo albums). Following these simple steps will help your photos appear in the New Yahoo! Search.

In addition, the new Yahoo! Search is going to integrate many other elements: Hotels, local businesses, events, restaurants, maps, movies, health, and more. Videos and pictures just scratch the surface, but they are a favorite among users, and an attractive, properly labeled video or image is extremely enticing to users. So get optimizing!