Yahoo Local, AI Bears, We Rewrite Your Site, AI Mode Self-Referencing

The Return of Yahoo Local

Back in the day, Google and Yahoo went head-to-head for local supremacy. Yahoo had a successful mapping product as well as listings and proprietary reviews. It also operated the largest SMB web and e-commerce hosting service (Yahoo Small Business, now part of Verizon). Then things fell apart. Yahoo outsourced search and maps and let local languish. Yahoo has been rebuilding since CEO Jim Lanzone took over (e.g., Yahoo Scout). A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon a seemingly new Yahoo local experience. It's interesting and has good potential, but it's kind of buried. It leads with content ("pros share winter painting tips for inside and outside your home") rather than search or listings. There are five featured categories: moving, roofing, plumbing, painting, awards. There are also in-depth SMB roundups with titles like "best roofers in Boulder Colorado." Those articles contain profiles of well-rated contractors. In those articles are lead-gen links ("get estimate") though it's not clear if they're paid – though probably. If you scroll all the way down, you'll find a directory. You can either click and browse or search for services across a wide range of locations and categories. The SERPs have a clean UI, though the profile pages are somewhat thin. Yelp is the review source and the business listings are probably from a third-party vendor. Yahoo has an opportunity to offer something fresh and useful. We'll see whether they do.