Yahoo! is now accepting applications for a commercial version of our Shopping APIs featuring product search, price comparison, ratings & reviews, and shopping browse. The program, which is now in limited beta, is similar to an affiliate model in that it enables websites to share in income generated from providing shopping search and other services powered by Yahoo! Shopping on their sites. Whether you are building a local shopping mash-up, a next generation social commerce destination, or you simply want to integrate shopping comparison features into your content site, this program is a first major step in providing you with tools to help you generate revenue.

Here’s an example from one of our first paid syndication partners, Family.com:

During this initial beta phase, we’re accepting a small number of applicants with special consideration given to sites with high traffic volume and fresh, unique content. But in the future, we plan to open this program to a larger audience. In the meantime, anyone can use our shopping APIs on a non-commercial basis.

Speaking of that, we’re also unveiling some useful enhancements to the Product Search API based on feedback from the developer community. The latest version includes:

• Search narrowing options. For example, if you query the API for ‘digital cameras’ in electronics, now you’ll find not only the product results that match that search term, but also sub-category and attribute narrowing options such as brand, product line, and number of mega-pixels.
• The ability to create a browse experience for your site based on Yahoo! Shopping’s comprehensive product hierarchy.
• Various product image sizes that allow developers to choose between thumbnail size and large photos of the merchandise.

Head on over to the Yahoo! Developer Network for details and full documentation on these enhanced features.

Thanks, and please let us know what you think!

Jen Faenza
Senior Product Manager

Pinank Gogri
Technical Yahoo!