Yahoo Search Engine may be testing Inktomi results for its anticipated switch over to Inktomi Search (a Yahoo propoerty) from Google in the Spring of 2004. According to Jennifer Laycock at About.com, Yahoo users around the globe are reporting occasional appearances of Inktomi listings in the Yahoo search results. A brief testing yesterday and this morning provided some mixed results.
Some phrases showed what appeared to be pure Inktomi listings, while others were clearly still matching up with Google. Still others matched neither set of listings, making many observers speculate that Yahoo is testing out it’s own algorithm on the Inktomi listings. Yahoo has stated that they will be making the switch to Inktomi sometime this quarter, but no actual date has been announced.
Yahoo kicked this plan into gear when it purchased Inktomi Corp. on December 23, 2002. Inktomi is the power behind many search engine results. With a large database of indexed web pages, Inktomi generates search results using an algorithmic technology analogous to that of search king (and current Yahoo search result provider) Google. By purchasing Inktomi, Yahoo has cleared the way to divorcing itself from Google. Inktomi was also attractive to Yahoo because it has a paid-inclusion program in which web site publishers must pay an annual fee to ensure inclusion in the Inktomi database.
