Cell Phone Search Heats Up

Yahoo! announced a new tool last week that allows users of its local search service to send restaurant and business-type information in the form of a text message from a computer to a mobile phone. Yahoo! said its new service is available across all the major wireless carriers nationwide and they will not charge consumers. Wireless carriers may opt to charge fees for receiving text messages on mobile phones that are a part of their networks.

As you recall, Google announced a service in October 2004 (http://www.clickz.com/resources/search_reference/heavyweights/article.php/3418811) that allows those with mobile phones to use its search engine. According to a ClickZ article, "The service, dubbed Google SMS, returns directory information about local businesses via Google Local and provides price comparison information through Froogle.com. It also lets users search for residential phone numbers, dictionary definitions and Web search results snippets. Google SMS also does calculations, area code look-ups and ZIP code look-ups." Google has no current plans to serve ads on their service, but they do not rule it out.

The main difference between this new service by Yahoo! and the Google search service is that users will begin the Yahoo! search on their computer to find the location and phone number of a restaurant, for example. They will then use the Yahoo! service to send the information via SMS text messaging to their cellular phone. Once you use Yahoo!’s local search, the results returned include a "send to mobile" link. In contrast, Google’s search service allows you to begin the search on your cellular phone and does not require the use of a computer.

Yahoo! also has a service called "Yahoo! Search for Mobile" that allows cellular phone users with color phones that are data-enabled and contain HTML or WAP 2.0 web browsers to use the Yahoo! search service. It can be used by typing search.yahoo.com or mobile.yahoo.com into the mobile phone's browser.

Search marketers can take advantage of the Google search service by making sure their all company’s products or clients products are available in the Froogle shopping service. They can take advantage of the Yahoo! local search service by making sure that they are listed in the Yahoo! Local Search service.

Discuss this article in the Small Business Ideas forum.