Marketers were left scratching their heads when Yahoo overtook Google as the top web property last year because Google was the clear search leader. It made more sense when taking into account the number of sites and services Yahoo’s moniker encompasses. And now, Yahoo seems to be leveraging those additional properties to get internet users and marketers to give the site more than a passing glance when searching for web content.
No more Google or Facebok logins
The search engine recently announced it’s pulling the plug on social logins from Facebook and Google, requiring users to create Yahoo IDs if they want to access top sites like Flickr and Fantasy Sports services. This news comes just in advance of the annual March Madness tournament, an event that nets the participation of one in 10 Americans and draws $2.5 billion in wagers across U.S. offices, according to an infographic by Trophy Sports Book.
“Yahoo is continually working on improving the user experience. [This] will allow us to offer the best personalized experience to everyone,” the company said in an announcement about the update.
Better for users or better for Yahoo?
While the site may certainly be in a better position to tailor content toward individual users, it seems Yahoo would also stand to gain engagement and user buy-in by requiring visitors to log in.
Starting today, Yahoo is rolling out this change to its web properties, and users won’t have one-click access to their favorite programs if they aren’t Yahoo members. Assuming they’re willing to take this step, they might also consider setting up an email account with Yahoo again or conduct that search for “bracket advice” right on the platform rather than navigating away.
Marketers and SEOs should keep their eyes on Yahoo’s continued moves toward search relevance. ComScore reports the engine currently accounts for just 10 percent of all core desktop queries, but a series of strategic moves, including its recent UX revamp and local results focus, could slowly put the site back on top (or at least bring it back into the conversation).
