Yahoo’s search result UI has been given a makeover, and although brand new, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Most of the changes seem to be bringing Yahoo closer to looking like Google’s search results. It features faster loading results that appear higher up on the page, as well as a Google-like navigation bar.
Yahoo has abandoned the tabs that were introduced in Yahoo’s 2011 redesign, and now has simple text links to other properties, much like Google, and a navigation menu on the left hand side comparable to the one Google introduced in 2010. The company says that “over time” they will be adding additional Yahoo properties to the top navigation bar.
Although the redesign will have no effect on Yahoo’s organic search results, as they are still powered by Microsoft’s Bing search engine, Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo, has voiced frustration with the Microsoft search deal, mainly because Yahoo and Bing have exchanged search engine market share over the last two years, instead of steal any of Google’s nearly 70% market share. Yahoo accounted for only 12 % of the U.S. search market in April, according to comScore data. And recent reports have hinted that Yahoo wants break out of its 10-year contract with Microsoft.
Written by James Maston