The Latest on Yahoo! Search BOSS
- Posted February 8th, 2011 at 8:30 am by Yahoo! Search
- Categories: BOSS, Developer, News/Announcements
As we announced in October 2010, we are getting ready to launch a new version of Yahoo! Search BOSS in the coming months and will be closing the current version this summer. We are now pleased to provide further details to help developers prepare for the transition, and are planning to provide specific technical documentation by March 1st 2011, prior to releasing the new BOSS.
The new BOSS service will enable “Search in the Cloud,” serving a robust set of web, image and news search results. A more limited web results service with a lower price point will also be available for developers who can utilize a subset of BOSS content to meet their application requirements. BOSS V2 will provide a self-serve sign up mechanism through the Yahoo! Developer Network, where developers will be able to enter their payment information and request advertising through the combined Yahoo! and Microsoft marketplace.
Pricing
The following pricing chart reflects the fee structure we expect to offer at launch:
Each query will return a predetermined number of results. Developers will be charged for queries received by Yahoo! based on the applicable price for query type, and be billed on a monthly basis, or more frequently, depending on a developer’s query volume. Developers will also be allowed a fixed number of free queries before their usage is charged.
Search Advertising
We encourage BOSS developers to use Yahoo! Search advertising to build a sustainable business for their applications, and those qualifying for Yahoo! Search advertising will be served ads in their BOSS API calls. Through the Yahoo! and Microsoft Search Alliance, we believe we have a robust marketplace and search advertising platform that will meet customers’ needs. In addition, we encourage developers to experiment with other advertising formats such as display. (And, don’t forget that Yahoo!, as the leader in online display advertising, can help. Click here for more details on Yahoo’s display advertising products.)
Branding
With the new version, we will be publishing Yahoo! branding guidelines for BOSS and will require all applications to include recognition of the Yahoo! brand. We want you to be able to leverage the Yahoo! brand to help signify the valuable platform on which your applications are built.
Philosophy
BOSS has always been and will be about developers. Our goal is to provide a product that allows you to build sustainable businesses via interesting cloud based search technology at a fair cost. In addition, we encourage BOSS developers to monetize your products using Yahoo! Search advertising – this will enable a long-term, symbiotic relationship between developers, consumers and Yahoo! Our pricing scheme is designed to reflect our belief in this ecosystem.
Once again, we are excited to bring developers our next version of BOSS very soon, and we are always looking to hear from you about new and interesting ways you want to use BOSS. Keep a watch out on the BOSS group for more updates.
Rahul Hampole
Yahoo! Search BOSS Team
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” will require all applications to include recognition of the Yahoo! brand”
Very Disappointing. Yahoo claimed that BOSS was there in order to give search startups a chance. This will significantly hamper that chance…
Congratulations!
I can’t say I agree with the Branding requirements – especially when we’re being charged for the queries. Free queries + branding I have no problem with, but I do have an issue paying Yahoo to advertise their brand.
I live Yahoo Boss. The new pricing looks good
I’ve always been curious to fool around with something like this and I hope that it works out for Yahoo! There are many licensed ‘software’ that you pay for and basically advertise for it every time its used, so I don’t think people should be too worried about Yahoo adding branding to the entire thing. Its possible that if more people were aware of it, and implemented it – the pricing could become more attractive and/or more advertisers will be willing to appear on the side.
Will advanced search options still be available? (geographic indexes, link searches, and so on)
I also want to ask this.
I have to say, the new attribution requirement is very, very disappointing.
Congrats on the upcoming release, it’s great to see BOSS grow up. I’ll be giving it a spin when it comes out.
Many months late, but glad to see something coming together. Branding is a PITA — big turn off — also don’t see why they need it if we are paying.
tnx
Hey, I am really glad to know about this new version of Yahoo! Search Boss, and getting excited to use of it.
Well, thanks anyway!:)
Long anticipated, so not a surprise. Hopefully, this will also result in improved support. I’m most interested in how much coverage for the Limited Web. This may meet our needs, but need to see some tests for this.
We love BOSS, but the Branding does sound very troublesome especially since we are paying for the service. If this is too restrictive hopefully there are some alternatives or this may be a blocking issue.
Is there any way to run queries for a large number of queries for hitcounts only for a smaller price?
Thank you very much very nice article Great information! Very useful for me. Thanks a lot. The idea is awesome. Congrats.
Branding for a paid api?? Very disappointing. Listen to your customers!
I am excited to use it. Thanks a lot.
Thanks for the update. We’ll see how the branding portion of this update eventually sorts itself out. While I’m not surprised that this is a source of controversy, I certainly see Yahoo’s perspective on that portion of this change.
C’mon guys.. If we pay for the service, why you still put the branding? Just not make any sense.
Wick
Aquaponics System
Everything’s OK except the branding. In fact the “branding condition is a very bad idea.
Not so sure about the branding..Nobody seems to think that this is a good idea, shouldn’t you ask yourselves, why?
Thank u for this article…
It’s highly unfortunate!!!
If there is anything that gave me extra joy and excitement about Yahoo BOSS(more than its fellow services), then it’s Yahoo’s policy about white label Search API. And I’m fully convinced that this is the major factor that encouraged many developers to develop almost inseparable relationship with BOSS.
Considering the sensitive nature of search engine market, it would be counter productive indeed, if after creating all the needed awareness about your new service and suddenly your users becomes your competitors, just because they saw “powered by xxx”.
If this branding issue had been mentioned on the October news release, I would probably not have pumped in additional time and effort.
Yahoo BOSS…. you reneged on your earlier promise to give developers a total freedom.
Once again, it’s unfortunate.
Thanks
the prices are really good…….
thanks
Thank you for your article. Congrats on the upcoming release …
disappointed in the branding too :-(
I’m willing to pay but why add branding too? Pick one or the other
Echoing many others by saying the pricing looks good but not so fantastic is the branding requirement .. (also it is March 1st, anxious for the full specs promised today :)
I’m not sure what I’m more disappointed with: the branding issue or the fact that although so many people are calling Yahoo on this, no Yahoo representative is deigning to give a reply concerning it…
Rahul,
Now that you guys rolled back on the Yahoo! brand attribution pat, how do we trust you guys in the future. All of us are willing to pay and we love your service, but keep your promise too.
If we are spending $0.80 per 1000 queries, the last thing we need is helping our customers to become our competitors.
We hope you guys will listen to us. :-/
great release! very interesting!prices also are very good,thanks for the information!
Hello,
I was going through the supposedly modified version of BOSS TOS(linked from here: http://developer.yahoo.com/search/boss/boss_api_guide/v2_keys.html. -end of page), only to find a section still claiming “NO ATTRIBUTION”. Please, can someone clarify if this is the new one for BOSS v2 or the old TOS. Below is the section in question.
NO ATTRIBUTION
1. You shall not refer to the Services, or use or display any Yahoo! trademarks, service marks, logos or other Yahoo!-related branding in connection with any Links or Web Search Results or in any other manner, except where expressly and specifically authorized by Yahoo! in writing.
2. You shall not issue a press release or other written public statement regarding this TOU without Yahoo!’s written approval; Yahoo! may list You as a user of Yahoo! Search BOSS.
3.You understand and acknowledge that Yahoo! is not certifying nor endorsing, and has no obligation to certify or endorse, any aspect of Your Offering or Your Content.
Thanks
I’ve been using the v1 for awhile now and it’s great. Don’t see a need for a verion 2 other than imposing new limits, requirements etc. Will you still offer the spell checking api? I don’t see it listed.
Also, why 180 on attributation? I am not happy about this. It’s a paid service and completely contradicts the v1 usage guidlines! Common!
First of all: BOSS is one of the best things I’ve seen on the search engine world. It’s a unique product with great flexibility and fantastic features. I’m sure V2 will rock. I only feel sorry about the branding rule. Is it really necessary? I mean, who’s interested on it? End users?? I don’t think so. Developers? Well, a smart developer can find out what’s behind a website in seconds. And besides that, branding will make BOSS devalue its uniqueness, since Google and Bing force us to display attribution. Why don’t you guys at Yahoo! make branding optional? C’mon, keep BOSS a very ubber unique product, don’t make it look like other sooo boring search engines… :)
Are educational / non-profit organisations also required to follow the fee structure? Is seems a little unfair to have commericial organisations and education on the same scale.
The enforce branding is also a big turn off. Though I do think we need more details.
The branding guideline will be a fun one, especially with cheapo developers like me who use with the half price stripped down results… basically I will be saying this: here are my stripped down results and btw they were provided by yahoo. Maybe please rethink the branding?
The branding requirement is very unfortunate.
Being able to white-label results was one of the best things about BOSS.
Hi,
The branding part is not welcome. If we are paying we should be getting it without any attribution.
Also we upheld Yahoo very highly in providing an impetus to startups in starting their venture and Yahoo has been supportive.
Though I still do not see why Yahoo needs a revenue stream from BOSS but still am willing to pay.
Yahoo made a wrong decision. Developers will walk away from Yahoo Boss after V2 starts. We’ll see. Hope Yahoo to listen to people.
What I’m worried about is fighting all the site scrapers like Baidu and others, that just have so many IP addresses or the ones that use other people to scape sites, they just sit there and pound on my site, page after page. I have had to block over 1000 ip adresses and they are still hitting my site. Emailing them or complaining to their hosting company doesn’t stop them either. So now I trying to write a blocking scipt that won’t affect my “real” customers. So I can imagine what my bill would be at the end of the month now that I have to start paying. The server and bandwidth costs are bad enough.
Second I agree, if we are paying for it, then why do we have to brand it?
As far as the “Yahoo Advertising”… used it… it sucked… then they passed us off to Chitka or whatever they were named and they sucked too. So where is the “advantage”? Or will they, after they get tired of not being able to deliver advertising based on the actual search results lkie Google and not making any money, pass us off again to some other loser company.
My $.80 per/1000…
Bob
Compulsory branding/attribution AND we have to pay….. no wonder Google is more popular …. comeon Yahoo guys… cents only make sense if your branding doesn’t compete with us customers! You have time to solve this before BOSS becomes a relic failure!
The amusing thing is that the original Yahoo Search API required attribution. Then the BOSS API forbade attribution. Now the BOSS V2 API will require attribution and payment.
We have a site legitimacy rating service, and offer it for Yahoo search using the existing BOSS API. We’re planning on switching to a browser plug-in which front-ends Google search. We’ve had a Google option for years, but featured Yahoo most prominently That may change.
John Nagle / SiteTruth
Here’s a really bad idea:
Why don’t you take a great free service, get Microsoft involved, remove features, start charging for it’s use, require branding, completely ignore your existing customers concerns, and call it “Version 2″!
O wait, that’s exactly what you did. Congratulations at completely undermining the original Yahoo! Boss search philosophy and alienating your customers. As for me I’m dropping your service. It was nice while it lasted.
Please don’t require attribution. The fees are understandable and agreed to but requiring “Powered by Yahoo” on our site will kill us. This requirement seems totally counter to the philosophy that Yahoo is developer friendly. Please reconsider.
I totally agree that the branding requirements are an insult to someone having to pay for this.
boss is boss.
yes, right boss is boss
Your article is valueble for me. Thanks!
A good system, very advanced and innovative
I quite liked
O wait, that’s exactly what you did. Congratulations at completely undermining the original Yahoo! Boss search philosophy and alienating your customers. As for me I’m dropping your service. It was nice while it lasted.