Yahoo launched a competitor to Google Instant this week called Search Direct, which aims to provide searchers with instant answers for their searches where possible. Search Direct has begun with 15 categories of instant answers, but hopes to expand to hundreds of categories in the near future.

Yahoo intends to focus on delivering the answer directly to the user, rather than supplying a list of links which the user then has to click on. Rich search results and answers instantly appear in the extended query box. Yahoo has combined search results with popular content in order to provide these answers.

Search Direct will predict your search with every keystroke entered into the search box and offers immediate results for these types of searches:

• Trending Search Topics — Showing the most popular searches related to what the user has typed.
• Direct Answers — For common searches such as addresses, shopping, weather forecasts, stock information and movie showtimes.
• Search Previews — For the ten most popular search results.
• Rich Content — For the top sports and news results related to the search.
• Direct Results — Allowing the user to go directly to the page, rather than viewing all the search results.

Yahoo Search Direct is available now.

Source: Search Engine Land