Yahoo Search To Add Multimedia

March 2nd, 2004 by Loren Baker, Editor | 5 Comments

Yahoo, the Internet content company and search engine, will enhance its search engine services by tapping into richer content such as audio, video and reference information.

Search users at Yahoo’s Web site will be able to access rich content, such as the audio files of National Public Radio, the US Library of Congress, the New York Public Library and Supreme Court audio recordings available through a Northwestern University project.

Yahoo, which is beefing up its search services to compete against Google and Microsoft’s MSN Internet division, said in February that it was starting to make a switch to its own Web search technology.

Altavista, a Yahoo owned part of Overture, previously held the title for the most indexed audio and video files for a multi-media search engine. Yahoo may be adapting the Altavista multi-media and image file indexes into its new search engine technology which was launched last month.

Both commercial and non-commercial content providers can submit Web pages that are added to Yahoo’s search index, its database of searchable Web sites.

Non-commercial organisations can submit their Web pages and digital content for inclusion in Yahoo search results for free, while commercial content providers pay a fee to include their content in search results.