Right Media purchase signals a new chapter in Yahoo versus Google

Yahoo’s Big Bet – by Todd Wasserman

Yahoo made a bad deal – says 24/7 Wall Street’s Douglas McIntyre

A smart move – says Charlene Li for Forrester Marketing

How Yahoo is Different than Google – according to Yahoo’s Jeff Weiner

Insights from Google Base Patent applications

Bill Slawski at SEO by the Sea breaks down Google’s patent applications for Google Base and makes some conclusions on how they plan to improve their search capabilities going forward. Read it all here:

Google Base allows Google to let users create content for the search engine in a manner that is easy to index (and search) because it is structured in attribute/value pairs for different items, and because it can be labeled even further by the people entering information.

We see Google try to extract information from data it receives from telecoms, directories, and Web pages for local search, to create a structured database that it can use to supply searchers with information about business locations. It isn’t always easy for Google to construct a database from a mix of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data.

Google can try to do the same to populate a products database (or other databases), but if they can get people to upload that information in a structured manner, it may become a lot easier for them to index that information.

Essentially, they are creating a safe means (by their standards) of letting human intelligence and sorting capabilities improve the quality of search results. I highly recommend reading the entire article.

If Yahoo can’t beat them, can they buy them?

Has Yahoo given up trying to build a legit competitor to Google Adsense? After years of trouble, it seems Yahoo is back on the acquisition path since failing to properly integrate Overture into their ad system.

Yahoo! Announces Agreement to Acquire Right Media, Largest Emerging Online Advertising Exchange:

Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO – News), a leading global Internet company, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Right Media Inc., creator of the Right Media Exchange. The acquisition of Right Media will build upon Yahoo!’s leadership in online advertising and is a key step towards executing the Company’s long-term strategy to transform how online advertisers connect to and engage with their customers – both on and off the Yahoo! network.

Some other companies Yahoo should consider buying:
Adbrite
Quigo
Google Adsense (haha, too bad!)