SEO EXPERTS

It’s been three weeks since we began the limited preview of Yahoo! Search’s new open developer platform, SearchMonkey. Today, we’re officially opening up the doors to all developers — professionals and hobbyists — to begin building applications that enhance the usefulness and relevance of search results.

There are three components to this open ecosystem:

• Site owners share structured data with Yahoo!, using semantic markup (microformats, RDF), standardized XML feeds, APIs (OpenSearch or other web services), and page extraction.
• Third party developers build SearchMonkey applications.
• Consumers customize their search experience.

So, what’s in it for third party developers?

With SearchMonkey, developers have a hand in shaping the next generation of search by building customized search results and mash-ups that users can add to their Yahoo! Search experience. By leveraging structured data from sites like CitySearch, StumbleUpon, eBay, or Epicurious.com, developers can add navigational links, reviews, contact information, and even locations to provide enhanced search listings.

Developers can build two types of applications using SearchMonkey: Enhanced Results and Infobars. Enhanced Results replace the current standard results with a richer display. All the links in the Enhanced Results must point to the site to which the result refers. Infobars are appended below search results and can include metadata about the result, related links or content, or links for user actions (such as adding a movie to a Netflix queue).

The process for building SearchMonkey applications is very straightforward:

1) Application Type — Decide what type of app you want to build (Enhanced Result or Infobar) and enter basic info such as application name, description and icon.
2) Trigger URLs — Decide the URL patterns that will trigger your app. For example, for the Enhanced Result above, the pattern would be “acmemovies.com/*”
3) Data Services — Data Services are the structured data on which SearchMonkey apps are based. They can be created using data available in the Yahoo! Search index (via data feeds or page markup such as microformats or RDF) or by using APIs or page extraction.
4) Appearance — Use PHP to configure how structured data should appear in the application.

Announcing the SearchMonkey Developer Challenge

To foster innovation and creativity on the SearchMonkey platform, we’re hosting a good old-fashioned competition. The SearchMonkey Developer Challenge will recognize innovative applications within four categories: Best Enhanced Result, Best Infobar, Most Innovative Use of Structured Data, Best Data Service, and Grand Prize (best over all categories). You have until June 14th to submit your applications for a chance to win up to $10,000.

And don’t forget to come kick things off with us this evening at the SearchMonkey Developer Launch Party. Catch live demos, meet the product team and enjoy free food, beer and, of course, schwag at Yahoo!’s Headquarters in Sunnyvale.

Author Michele Gershberg, Reuters

 

NEW YORK - Yahoo Inc. faced growing pressure Sunday to find an alternative strategy to a $47.5 billion US takeover offer from Microsoft Corp. after the software maker walked away over a major disagreement on price.

Yahoo is likely to push for an advertising partnership with the web search leader Google Inc. to help boost near-term operating performance, sources familiar with the matter said.

It is also still pursuing a deal with another Internet media and advertising major, such as Time Warner Inc.’s AOL, people familiar with the discussions said.

Expectation that Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang has another strategy up his sleeve could help mitigate a steep descent for the company’s shares today, but he will face angry questions from shareholders if nothing materializes.

“There are two things that could support the stock: the potential for

Microsoft to return and the potential to do a Google deal,” said Clayton Moran, analyst at Stanford Group.

Moran said Yahoo shares could fall to the mid- to low-$20 range from a $28.67 close last week. It’s still higher than Yahoo’s close of $19.18 on Jan. 31, the day before Microsoft announced its offer. Microsoft sweetened its initial $31-per-share offer to $33 on Saturday, but withdrew from talks when Yang sought $37.

Yahoo is conducting tests with Google to outsource some of its search listings to its arch-rival. It has also held talks in tandem with AOL and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

“It increasingly appears like Yahoo will pursue a Google search partnership,” said Moran, who favours a Microsoft buyout. “Given Google’s position (in the market), a partnership with them cedes control and limits the long-term value creation for Yahoo.”

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer portrayed Yahoo’s options as particularly stark in a letter to Yang, suggesting any tie-up with Google would preclude a deal.

He also warned Yahoo it would give up its relationship with advertisers by coordinating with Google and could lose some top engineering talent.

Some analysts dispute the idea, saying Yahoo’s operating results would certainly benefit from a Google partnership.

Other Google partners, including IAC/InterActiveCorp.’s Ask.com, have structured deals that keep them in control of their advertiser ties, said Jeffrey Lindsay of Sanford C. Bernstein.

Lindsay estimates Yahoo could be worth up to $35 per share if it forges a Google deal, and could nudge that higher to $37 per share with additional job cuts. But if there are no partnerships in the offing, that value drops to $25 per share, he said.