Russian search company Rambler has announced the appointment of former Yahoo! Europe chief, Mark Opzoomer, as General Director (CEO).
This move is seen by many analysts as a positive step for the search company. While Rambler were the first search engine in Russia they have lost placement over the years to Yandex, who now leads with a 60% market share. They compete with Google for third place in market at the 17-20% level.
This can be seen further in the advertising sales, where Rambler has yet to fully capitalise on the growing market. According to the ING, in 2005 and 2006 the volume of advertising in Rambler rose from $15 to $29m. During the same period, Yandex sales increased from $35 to $72m, RBK from $36 to $50m, and Mail.ru from $15 to $32m. Overall, the market has risen significantly from $110 to $221m.
Similarities are often drawn between Rambler and Yahoo! as both are portals. Rambler’s business choices will certainly be familiar to the former Yahoo, will they continue to fight for leadership in search or focus on the consolidation of content.
Nick Wilsdon
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