Google Vs. Yahoo!

Yahoo and Google have been slugging it out over the past few years, and although Yahoo had the head start, Google is quickly catching up. There have been several decent search engines that popped up, but these two are still the ones most people use. Yahoo quickly learned that to stay competitive, they have to offer more than just a search.

Soon Yahoo mail, Yahoo games, Yahoo news etc. popped up, but Google had a completely different approach. Although they have recently added GMail and acquired youtube.com, the key to their success, was they put all their resources into making the search better, faster, and more refined. They were the first to add the ability to search pictures, and video. They added a new part of their site called Froogle, which allows the user to search millions of webpage's for almost anything you can buy. On top of that you can sort by price, model, maker and more. Foogle is one of the best ways to find a deal on electronics, clothing and just about anything you can imagine.

Google's dedication to the search is what allowed them to catch up to Yahoo so quickly, but Yahoo definitely took notice. In no time, they had added many of Google's features, such as image search, video search, caching and the ability to search though only news topics. Amazingly, they offered almost exactly what Google did in just a matter of weeks, and their ability to adapt with Google is what has kept them ahead.

Yahoo has been the most visited site on the internet, and the reason is because they offer all the frills like e-mail. As can be seen from the past, Yahoo can match Google, but Google has a hard time matching Yahoo. Most people would agree that Yahoo's free e-mail is the best on the internet, with a gig of space, good spam tools and a nice interface. They had e-mail first, and it really boosted their traffic. Google decided to play catch up and offer their own free e-mail. It would offer much more space than Yahoo mail, and have advanced searching capabilities. They figured people would be attracted more to space than features, but it didn't work. There are no spam fighting capabilities, and the way e-mails are laid out can be really confusing. Hardly anyone uses Gmail, and although the space they give you is unrivaled, the features are not.

Even though Yahoo has been around longer, their search is still their weak link. They have put so many resources into the extras, they really have neglected it. This still separates the two companies. Neither Google nor yahoos better than the other. They just take two totally different approaches at the same problem. If you want to get the best search results, use google. If you want the frills like e-mail, just sign up with yahoo and use their search if it's for something that isn't crucial. Their both great search engines, but Google's is a little more powerful, and that's the real difference.