We’ve not heard the last from Yahoo this year, as the company came out with an announcement detailing updates to its mobile search. Among these updates is a tweak to the mobile search algorithm.
This is a bold change which certainly sets Yahoo apart from its competitors in the realm of mobile search. Yahoo is going all in on presenting the most recently published content above all else.
Of course, Google has its News tab, but that is completely separate from the main search experience. Although a news box does occasionally appear in the main set of search results when appropriate, it’ snot something that happens all the time.
The change Yahoo announced today will see a section of popular news stories become a permanent fixture of mobile search.
No further details were given about Yahoo’s mobile algorithm change and what else will come into play when ranking stories, but I suspect as SEOs we will learn more as we get a chance to interact with it.
Yahoo’s New Image Search
In addition tweaking it’s mobile algorithm, Yahoo has revamped its image search in a similar way. Searching for photos will return the photos you’re looking for, but it will also return a section of trending content featuring the types of images you’re looking for.
Yahoo gives the specific example of searching for celebrities when describing its new image search. Does that mean it only works for celebrities and not other types of searches? Since this change is US-only for now I haven’t been able to do any of my own testing.
Twitter Integration
Twitter is now a part of Yahoo search, bringing up a section of popular tweets when famous public figures as searched for.
Again, the company explains that this will only work for celebrity searches at this time.
Accelerated Mobile Pages
News stories in Yahoo search are now compatible with the freshly unveiled Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) technology.
If you’re not familiar with AMP technology, here’s a backgrounder for you. Google executives are calling it “next year’s hottest new website technology”, so it’s in your best interest to at least be aware of it.
Available Now For US Users
All of the changes announced today are available now in Yahoo mobile search in the United States. There was no indication as to when these features might be rolled out more widely.
Featured Image Credit: nevodka / Shutterstock.com
