Yahoo’s Portals Help it Beat Google for Customer Satisfaction

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 by Andy Beal

Yahoo’s Portals Help it Beat Google for Customer Satisfaction

It seems that Yahoo’s status as a web portal–as opposed to Google’s search only moniker–might actually help the company gain a foothold on its larger competitor.

According to the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index, Yahoo’s score was higher than Google’s–growing 3.9%, while Google’s fell 3.7%.

The survey included two different categories: search engines and portals, according to CNET. That might have skewed the results in Yahoo’s favor and it also gives them hope for the future. Being labeled as a “portal” was once considered a big setback for Yahoo, but it could now be the one thing that helps it succeed. After all, have you noticed how Google continued to provide “portal” like services?

How did the other search engines fair? Microsoft’s score rose 1.4%, Ask was up 5.6%, while AOL tanked by 9.5%.

Want more marketing news & views? Follow Marketing Pilgrim's Andy Beal on Twitter!

Share this post

5 comments on “Yahoo’s Portals Help it Beat Google for Customer Satisfaction”

Steven Bradley Says:

August 14th, 2007 at 1:04 pm

I’ve noticed lately that in just about every comparison between search engines the one not named Google seems to be coming up on top.

I’m not sure if that’s because people are really liking Google less or if people are seeking areas where Google doesn’t do as well and then reporting on those areas.
Adrienne Doss Says:

August 14th, 2007 at 3:44 pm

This is so painful to read. I’ve been the webmaster/SEO for a Yahoo store for over 3 years, and a Yahoo PPC customer for almost 4 years. Almost every interaction I’ve had with Yahoo has been negative. I can only assume that the people satisfied with Yahoo have never had to deal with their “customer service” people.
Not a good week for Google at Brisbane SEO Blog Says:

August 20th, 2007 at 8:31 am

[...] Then later in the week, for the first time ever, Yahoo! services were given a better overall rating than Google’s. The thing that helped get Yahoo! over the line was Yahoo’s status as a web portal–as opposed to Google’s search only service. [...]
This Week In SEO - 8/17/07 - TheVanBlog Says:

August 20th, 2007 at 11:10 pm

[...] Yahoo’s Portals Help it Beat Google for Customer Satisfaction [...]
PerfectMOney Says:

February 25th, 2009 at 4:31 am

I believe the competitions already play Fair full.and it is good for every Search engine player.and as previous Domination My vote is always with Google search engine as the Most Satisfying search engine so far,My satisfaction benchmark will be goes to effectiveness time searching and result relevancy.Other then Google Has something Google can do to help me Find ‘Something”

Marketing Pilgrim