Online giant Yahoo launched on 3 August a local search engine http://au.yahoo.com, designed to make it easier to find businesses and products in Australia and New Zealand, particularly targeting the 1.2 million small businesses in Australia that might consider advertising online.
Yahoo head of search Peter Crowe said that the new search engine did not incorporate White Pages and Yellow Pages directory information included in the rival http://sensis.com.au search site launched by Telstra's Sensis directories division last month, and predicted that the local search launch will increase Yahoo's traffic by up to 20 percent in the next year. Currently, about four million users visit Yahoo in Australia each month, 20 percent of whom looking for local information.
The Yahoo launch is the latest step in the battle for the fast-growing global search advertising market, estimated by MSN to be worth $ 7 billion. In Australia in particular, the search advertising market is tipped to reach $40 million this year, with Sensis, Yahoo, Google, the PBL and Microsoft joint venture Nine MSN all fighting for their share, each rushing to launch local search products that will provide Australian consumers with more relevant business information and give local companies a better reason to advertise.
