atmaspheric | endeavors

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The world of search engines is on the crux of some big changes with no clear winners in the next 12 months, according to SearchEngine Watch founder Danny Sullivan.

Whereas major players such as Google, Yahoo! (Quote, Company Info), and Microsoft (Quote, Company Info) currently dominate the landscape, the remaining batch of survivors also look to play a pivotal role in how much of the pie everyone gets.

“Next year will be a wildcard with all new opportunities,” Sullivan said to a packed house during the Search Engine Strategies 2003 Conference & Expo here. “Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last three months, you know that consolidation and contextual ads are the hot topic with major implications.” [InternetNews.com]