Yahoo is the search engine of an American web services provider. It also offers email services. It was the first search engine that came in the year 1994. Jerry Yang and David Filo are the founders of this amazing search engine. They start this project at Stanford University. They both were electrical engineering students. They give a name to their website “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web”. In April 1994 they rename their project with name “Yahoo”. Initially, it started as a directory for searching websites. Later it embarked various online web services and become a top-notch company on the internet.
Contents in the Article
Evolution of yahoo.com
yahoo.com domain came into existence in 1995. The acronym of Yahoo is “Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle” or “Yet Another Hierarchically Officious Oracle. As discussed prior it was started by two college students named Jerry Yang and David Filo. Initially, it was just used as a directory of websites. With the passage of time, it enhanced services. Yahoo mail, news, finance, sports, and search are new services started by Yahoo. In order to expand its services it started acquiring GeoCities, RocketMail, and Flickr companies. Yahoo is a renowned company because of its email services. Therefore it captivated millions of users worldwide.
Challenges and Transformation
With the passage of time, yahoo confronted rigid competition from other brands. Google was also an emerging search engine started in the year 1998. Yahoo undergoes multiple leadership changes and is also confronted with a lot of marketing changes. In the year 2016, Yahoo faced a security breach allegation. It was alleged to compromise the personal data of hundreds of millions of user accounts. As a consequence, its reputation was damaged. Also, user trust dropped on yahoo.
Early History of Yahoo from 1994 to 1996
Yahoo got its first fund in March 1995. It receives around $1 million. This fund helps the company in growth and to hire new talent. It also makes innovative changes to the portal. It enhances its features and incorporates more categories and subcategories. A search function, email service, and a news aggregator were also added. In April 1996, with the initial public offering(IPO) the stock price of Yahoo increased to $43.00 per day. At that time it was the first company who experience such remarkable financial success. Yahoo invests the funds raised from IPO in its future expansions. Yahoo started acquiring other companies in 1996. During this time, Yahoo became a well-known directory and search engine. Its fame grew quickly because of its user-friendly interface, comprehensive directory, and growing range of services. Through the initial period of success, it became one of the biggest internet companies.
Growth of Yahoo from 1997 to 1999
Yahoo grew significantly between 1997 and 1999. It unveiled new features like Yahoo Messenger, an instant messaging service, and Yahoo Mail Plus. The company also launched Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Finance, and Yahoo Chat. Yahoo did partnerships with a number of organizations to enhance its services and reach. In 1997, Yahoo partnered with AT&T. The motive behind this alliance was to become the default search engine and popular internet service provider. It acquired four11 company in 1997 which was the popular email service provider at that time. It was famous for RocketMail at that time. Later yahoo launches its own Yahoo mail.
Yahoo also made a number of other acquisitions, including Classic Games, ViaWeb, and Yoyodyne Entertainment. It concentrated on boosting its presence internationally. It launched localized versions of its website in various countries. These localized versions launched in Europe, Canada, Australia, and Japan initially. Yahoo’s international growth enabled it to enter into new markets and widen its reach. Later it introduced banner ads, sponsored search results, and other advertising formats on its website. During this time, Yahoo’s stock price soared.
Growth of Yahoo from 2000 to 2008
Yahoo experienced significant obstacles and opportunities between 2000 and 2008. An overview of Yahoo’s expansion during this time is provided below:
Its stock price on January 3, 2000, was $118.75. However, it reached $8.11 on September 26, 2001. This had a significant effect on Yahoo and other tech companies. This led to a drop in stock prices and a climate of increased investor caution.Yahoo worked hard to expand the scope of its offerings beyond search and directory services. In order to reach and engage a larger audience, it expanded its content verticals, adding news, sports, finance, and entertainment.
Additionally, Yahoo expanded its functionality. It introduced new services like Yahoo Groups (online discussion forums) and Yahoo Answers (a platform for user-generated questions and answers). Overture Services, a paid search advertising firm, and Flickr, an online acquired in 2003 and 2005. Furthermore, Yahoo formed alliances with SBC Communications (later AT&T) and eBay.
Yahoo also established its own Yahoo Publisher Network. The purpose was to provide third-party websites with advertising opportunities. Google was the leading online search and advertising. Google’s search engine and AdWords were alarming competitors for Yahoo. It lost market share and advertising revenue as Google rapidly expanded and innovated. Yahoo changed leadership during this time. Terry Semel became CEO in 2001 after Tim Koogle. Later, in 2007 Jerry Yang became CEO.
Yahoo’s growth from 2008 to 2021
After being purchased by Verizon Communications in 2017, Yahoo underwent a number of changes in strategy and management. From 2012-2017 Marissa Mayer was the CEO of Yahoo. During that time products and services were praised.
In February 2008 Microsoft made an impressive offer of $44.6 billion to Yahoo. However, Yahoo rejected the offer. Later Microsoft increased its bid to $47 billion. But Yahoo wants more 10%+ increase. In contrast, Microsoft cancelled the offer in May 2008. Yahoo and Microsoft formed a collaboration in 2009. Both worked together to compete with Google. However, Yahoo’s search market share has steadily decreased over the years.
Yahoo announced 2016 two massive security breaches that affected billions of user accounts. This incident affected Yahoo’s reputation and user trust. Verizon Communications bought Yahoo’s primary online business in 2017. Then it merge with AOL to form a new company called Oath, which was later rebranded as Verizon Media.
Yahoo underwent a transformation while owned by Verizon. 90% of Yahoo was purchased in September 2021 by investment funds by the management of Apollo Global Management. Yahoo made the announcement that it was ending operations in mainland China in November 2021. The business previously stopped offering China Yahoo Mail on August 20, 2013. Yahoo announced in 2023 that it would be reducing its workforce by 20%. This move was initiated as a consequence of massive layoffs by Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Inc., Meta, and Amazon, among other tech giants. The company decides to cut out approximately 1000 employees.
Challenges Face by Yahoo
- Google, social media sites, and other internet giants increase competition.
- Changes in user preferences and actions are hard to accommodate.
- Changes in leadership and shifts in strategy have an effect on innovation and competitiveness.
- Problems with making money in the changing world of online advertising.
- Security breaches and worries about data privacy hurt user trust.
- The decline in market relevance and user engagement over time.
- Integration problems and a brand identity that doesn’t fit together well.
- Acquisition by Verizon and the necessity for a revolutionary approach.
- Challenges in developing long-term plans for expansion.
- Changing market dynamics necessitate redefining Yahoo’s industry standing.
Conclusion
From 1994 to 1996 it establish a prominent internet directory and search engine. Overall, Yahoo grew significantly between 1997 and 1999, enhancing its offerings, forming alliances, making wise acquisitions, and benefiting from the burgeoning internet sector. The increase in the company’s users, earnings, and stock price made Yahoo one of the top internet companies at the time. Yahoo’s offerings expanded beyond search and directory services between 2000 and 2008.
It pioneered content verticals like news, sports, finance, and entertainment. Yahoo made significant acquisitions, such as Overture Services and Flickr, to improve its services and expand its user reach. Yahoo concentrated on monetizing its platform through online advertising, introducing new ad formats, and expanding the Yahoo Publisher Network. Yahoo faced fierce competition from Google, which impacted its market share and advertising revenue, causing its overall market position to deteriorate. Overall, Yahoo experienced growth, diversification, competition, and challenges between 2000 and 2008.