Yahoo! News . Customers happier with Yahoo! over Google

by Kris   ⋅   August 14, 2007   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

The Search Engine world is fickle with customer quality assurance and innovation at its pinnacle. Nothing beats being smack in the heart of innovation valley.. you can just feel the creative energy and smell the brains brewing! This proves that the world needs designers!

Is Google Inc. losing its edge?

The search engine juggernaut was overtaken for the first time by rival Yahoo Inc. in a University of Michigan customer satisfaction survey scheduled for release today. Consumers gave Google a score of 78 out of a possible 100 points, down three points from last year. It was the first time Google slipped below 80 points since 2002, when the company was added to the survey.

Meanwhile, Yahoo gained three points to 79 to secure the top spot.

Yahoo’s ascent reflects consumers’ impression, whether deserved or not, that Yahoo has done a better job of innovating to keep up with the times, said Larry Freed, president of ForeSee Results, which wrote an analysis of the data as a sponsor of the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index.

For Web-based e-mail, for example, Yahoo commanded a 36% market share in the U.S. in June, while Google’s much newer Gmail service had a 3% share, according to market research firm Hitwise.

Other analysts posited that the two companies’ reputations also might have factored into the swing in customer satisfaction.

For many users, Yahoo is a starting place to the Internet. Over the last year, Yahoo has significantly revamped its site, which offers not just search but also e-mail, financial data, movie times and other services.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo said in a statement that it was pleased with the results, and that they reflected the company’s recent efforts to keep its 500 million global users happy.

Google took its drop in stride. “We are continually working to provide the best online experience for our users and welcome strong competition that helps drive market innovation,” a company spokeswoman said.

But analysts believe the ego blow may be harder than Google lets on. “It’s very important for them to be perceived as a clear leader in innovation,” Li said. “This shows that the game isn’t over.”

MORE ARTICLES:

Yahoo! Edges Out Google In User Satisfaction Poll - CNN Money - 08/13/2007
For the first time ever, Yahoo! narrowly beat Google in the University of Michigan’s annual American Customer Satisfaction Index report, which ranks business Web sites such as portals, search engines and news outlets. According to the survey, released Aug. 14, Yahoo! replaced Google as the top Web portal with a customer satisfaction score of 79, up nearly 4% over last year. Google’s score slipped by 3.7% to 78. It’s the second straight decline for the Web’s top search site.

“Yahoo! has seen a great resurgence, and for Google the message here is that the competition is getting stronger,” said Larry Freed, chief executive of ForeSee Results, which sponsored the survey.

Yahoo! Edges Google In U.S. User Satisfaction Survey - Reuters - 08/14/2007
Yahoo! Inc may be struggling to convince Wall Street of its future prospects, but for the first time its users gave its services overall a better rating than what Google Inc received, according to a study released on Tuesday. Data from the University of Michigan American Consumer Satisfaction Index showed Yahoo! had seen its customer satisfaction score rise 3.9 percent from a year ago to 79 out of 100 points, while Google’s rating fell about 3.7 percent to 78 points. While Google remains the dominant Web search engine, Yahoo’s Internet presence is gaining user approval for its network of Web sites, e-mail, social networks and other features, according to the survey.

The positive perception of Yahoo! stems from a relaunch of the main site and its various offshoots which are now gaining ground, said Larry Freed, chief executive of ForeSee Results, which sponsored the ACSI report. “People have gotten comfortable with the (Yahoo) interface,” he said. “They’ve also done a good job in continuing to be dominant in communities and sub-functions of the portal. That’s always been Yahoo’s strength.” While Google’s search functions remain strong, when it comes to the Web, customers look for marked improvements from year to year to say they are more satisfied, he said.

Yahoo! Edges Google In U.S. User Satisfaction Survey - New York Times - 08/14/2007
Yahoo! Inc may be struggling to convince Wall Street of its future prospects, but for the first time its users gave its services overall a better rating than what Google Inc received, according to a study released on Tuesday. Data from the University of Michigan American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) showed Yahoo! had seen its customer satisfaction score rise 3.9 percent from a year ago to 79 out of 100 points, while Google’s rating fell about 3.7 percent to 78 points. While Google remains the dominant Web search engine, Yahoo’s Internet presence is gaining user approval for its network of Web sites, e-mail, social networks and other features, according to the survey.

The positive perception of Yahoo! stems from a relaunch of the main site and its various offshoots which are now gaining ground, said Larry Freed, chief executive of ForeSee Results, which sponsored the ACSI report. “People have gotten comfortable with the (Yahoo) interface,” he said. “They’ve also done a good job in continuing to be dominant in communities and sub-functions of the portal. That’s always been Yahoo’s strength.”

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