Guest Post by Dan Chaney
Before Google dominated the search engine market, the #1 place to go for information on anything was Yahoo. No one could go outside or watch TV without seeing one of their ads each day. Today, Yahoo is not in good shape. Some internet users either think it’s dead or have no idea what it is. At one point, a few companies tried to buy the company but the execs and shareholders refused the offers. However, no one has thought of a partnership. Will Yahoo ever do such a thing with Google or someone else? The short answer is maybe.
Yahoo could use some help in some form or another. Their net income is at $228.5 million according to their Q2 2012 earnings report, which has been in decline for some time. They’ve also had many of their top-level execs either leave or have been let go over the past six years. Add on the fact that they’re having to compete for business with two juggernaut-sized companies (Google and Microsoft) and it becomes clear that Yahoo has a massive hill to climb if they wish to stay open.
A partnership of some could work in their favor, but it depends on what the other party would offer them. The first thing they need is more people using their search engine. Without that, there’s not much of a reason to visit except to check e-mail and read the news. Original content would also help. If Yahoo offers something people want to see or read that can’t be found elsewhere, there’s a good chance that they’ll be able to convince users and investors to give them a second look. In short, they’d have to utilize multiple services from one company or team up with multiple companies to remain afloat.
At some point, Yahoo will have to do something big to attract the attention of internet users and businesses alike. If they can’t offer better services and content than its competition, it’ll have to put itself up for sale and hope for the best. A partnership with Google would help, but only if it’ll convince people to come to their site on a regular basis aside from checking and sending email. Also, it’ll depend on which services the partnership will improve. Otherwise, the deal may turn out to be an expensive waste of time for all parties involved.
One way or another, Yahoo needs to get its house in order. Will that include a partnership of some kind? Only time will tell. Given the history they’ve had when it comes to being bought up, the folks in charge may choose to do things on their own until all of their efforts fall flat before striking a deal with anyone.
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Dan Chaney is a blogger for HirePulse advertising with a background in social media and marketing.
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