SEO Blog

Yahoo news reports that the general public is in agreement with Google’s decision not to hand over search records to the US government. This is based on a survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute of Michigan that shows 56 percent in favor of Google’s decision to keep search records private. 16,550 people were polled for the survey.

Last week, Google made big news by opposing a government subpoena to hand over information to the Department of justice. The Department of Justice is seeking the information under the Child Online Protection Act.

According to Ponemon Institute’s survey, 90 percent of the people polled were not even aware their searches were recorded. 41 percent of those who agreed with Google’s position on keeping the records from the Government claimed they would drop the engine if it bowed down to the government’s request.

Other search sites, including Yahoo and MSN, have already handed information over to the US government.

Today Ask Jeeves announced the launch of its own propriety image search database. The technology, called ‘Ask Picture Search,’ uses Jeeves’ own image search algorithms and patent pending image recognition tools.

Images are one of the most popular searched for formats on the site, making up 16 percent of all searches conducted at Jeeves. “Image search is the second-leading type of search on Ask Jeeves after Web search, “said Jim Lanzone, senior vice president of search properties at Ask Jeeves, Inc. “The improvements we are introducing today move the needle for searchers where they really need it.”

Some features include:

• A new image index
• Jeeves’ ‘Zoom’ technology that lets users narrow down or expand searches
• The ability to save picture results via ‘My Jeeves’

Sponsored results are included at the bottom of the page.

Bloomberg News reports that Yahoo! has no plans for taking top spot in the search engine market. Yahoo!, one of the oldest search sites on the Web, believes it will not be able to overtake Google’s market share, and is satisfied with its current position.

“It’s not our goal to be No. 1 in Internet search,” said Yahoo’s Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker. “We would be very happy to maintain our market share.”

This announcement has created some critique amongst search engine experts, who feel Yahoo’s approach is a questionable business tactic. “Certainly saying you’re number two to your employees and consumers isn’t very inspiring,” said Danny Sullivan of SearchEngineWatch.

Steve Rubel over at Micro Persuasion spoke about dumping Yahoo! altogether. “As much as I am a fan of Yahoo on the whole, I would rather stick with a search platform that is run by a company that’s always striving to be number one, e.g. Google,” said Rubel.

Currently, Google has approximately twice the market share of Yahoo! and MSN. Last year, Google’s global share rose to 60 percent from 47 percent, while Yahoo! dropped to 19 percent from 27 percent.