Search Engines are hot properties now. There has been recent consolidation. Yahoo bought Inktomi, Overture bought Altavista and some technology from FAST, while Google bought Pyra. Business Week writes about what’s driving this:
As Web surfers grow more sophisticated, they focus on specific tasks, such as checking mail or finding a recipe. More are using search engines to hurry through their to-do lists. The percentage of Web site visitors who arrived via search engines nearly doubled in the past year, to 13%, says analytics firm WebSideStory. Increasingly, says Jupiter Research analyst Gary Stein, “people are tuned out on banner ads and tuned in to search results.”
Yahoo boasts the biggest audience, Overture the most advertising, and Google has the leading search technology. But the balance of power is shifting fast. All the major players are busy building or buying the pieces they’re missing.
MSN isn’t likely to be sitting idle either. One can expect them to make a move soon.
