Competitive Strategies Case Study

Yahoo vs Google: The Challenge

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Abstract:
With the battle of portals heating up, internet companies – Google and Yahoo! (Yahoo) are aggressively vying to become the world’s leading internet portal--the site that most internet users rely on for everything, from searching the web to sending e-mail and catching up on the news. By 2005, Yahoo has become much more than a portal; it is a full-fledged media company. During 2006, Google’s dominance in search continues to give it a commanding lead in Internet advertising. The search engine major maintains its growth momentum through organic and inorganic growth. Yahoo has missed out on acquisitions and setbacks such as the delay of its search-advertising system, and decelerating revenue growth are increasing the pressure on Yahoo. As analysts compared the two internet companies, the companies themselves try to outdo each other in areas such as search, advertising and products and services. The case compares the product offerings of the two companies, their strength in search and their advertising models and revenue. It also compares their growth strategy.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• The case discusses the critical success factors in the IT industry
• The case outlines Yahoo and Google’s growth strategy
• The case compares their new product launches, search engines and advertising strategy
• The case discusses their future growth prospects.

Keywords : Yahoo; Google; Search engines; business models in the IT industry; advertising strategy; electronic mail; Competitive Strategies Case Study; desktop search; web traffic; flickr; orkut; business goals; product design

Contents : 
About Yahoo
Advertising
Products Comparison
Site Information about Yahoo
Site Stats for google.com
Website information
Visitors to internet sites