Facts and Figures in Yandex’s Search Suggestions

Moscow, May 23, 2012. Yandex (NASDAQ: YNDX) has added facts and figures to its search suggestions. Yandex search engine users can now see the answers to their search queries even before they finish typing them in the search bar. Answers to queries such as “area code for Saint Petersburg” or “height of Everest” will appear instantly right in the drop-down menu below the search bar. This functionality is available both on desktop search and in the mobile version for touchscreen smartphones.

Facts and figures appear in Yandex’s search suggestions in response to factual queries in Russian. Currently Yandex search delivers instant answers to the most popular factual questions, including city and country telephone codes, national currencies, chemical formulas, names of authors and much more. A crossword puzzle fan can now easily find out the name of Titanic’s director, while a student doing their geography homework will instantly discover the depth of the Mariana trench.

“Search suggestions used to be an excellent tool for saving the user’s time, but now they can instantly offer what people are looking for. This is especially convenient for mobile users. The launch of factual search results in search suggestions is part of our intent-based search program. These results directly respond to the user’s need for specific factual information. Our factual database will be gradually increasing,” says Zoya Morozova, Project Manager.

Yandex’s intent-based search program aims at improving the search engine’s understanding of users’ search intentions. Behind each query there is a specific search goal that the user wants to achieve. Search refiners that were launched as part of Yandex’s intent-based search program earlier this year allow users to specify their searches in just one click.

About Yandex

Yandex (NASDAQ: YNDX) is the leading internet company in Russia, operating the country’s most popular search engine and most visited website. Yandex also operates in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Turkey. Yandex’s mission is to answer any question internet users may have.

Contact:
Media Relations
Vladimir Isaev, Ochir Mandzhikov
Phone: +7 495 739-7000
E-mail: pr@yandex-team.com