Chapter 49. The Sound of Content Ripping Free from Its Page
Yahoo's announcement in March 2008 that it intends to introduce a different method of search—such that Yahoo! will pull microformatted data out of a page and deliver it on Yahoo's results instead of passing the searcher through to the target page—should send a shiver through the minds of SEO experts and content producers alike. Let me explain it again: Imagine search results that don't encourage users to land on your web site but instead serve them answers at the search results page. Sweating yet?
From a user's perspective, this is much more useful in certain situations. In the Blogspotting article,[189] Stephen Baker uses the example of someone looking for restaurant info. Instead of getting links to all kinds of pages where the info is housed, you'll get a simple, easy-to-read, useful collection of data that should help you get what you need.
From a content producer's perspective, this requires you to make a lot of changes to your perception of what matters, especially if you believe the value of your content is the site that houses it.
ADVERTISING ON THE PAGE PALES
If someone is seeking how-to videos on playing the cello, and you have a cello podcast (e.g., www.cellojourney.com) relying on a wraparound of Google AdSense for bandwidth and beer money, your video might now have legs to land on a search results page sans advertising. In cases where you've built ads and affiliate programs all over your site, a search like the ...
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