Yahoo! Searches for Google Defense

Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) has kicked off an even more focused search for better targeted Internet ads.

On Tuesday, the No. 2 Internet search shop unveiled Search Pad, a feature that lets users keep search results in files with links and notes. Not only can the research file can be posted or emailed to others, but it also gives Yahoo! a clear view into some of its users' favorite interests.

Not to pull back the curtain too far, but the search for better search methods isn't simply a public service gesture as much as it is a key profit motive. Delivering search results that align with users' interests allow advertisers to place ads that people might notice and even click on.

The move comes just weeks after Microsoft (MSFT Quote) launched its latest search engine, Bing -- with vivid photo homepage and handy category selections that give the site some curb appeal. Yahoo!'s Search Pad also marks the latest attempt by the search industry to move beyond what analysts call the "10 blue text links" norm.

"There is not one specific change that we would highlight as the catalyst for innovation in search, but clearly change is moving faster now than it has in a long time," Broadpoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter wrote in a research note Tuesday.

Google (GOOG Quote), Yahoo! and Microsoft have been exploring different search formats looking for ways to please users. Google, for example, has any number of features and new beta applications in search, such as Google Squared, which compiles a comparison grid of items related to the subject of a search.