Yahoo Search Map

Yahoo Search First Interactive Map
Live feature here (only available on desktop)

Winner of Yahoo Search Megathon 2023

Product Manager

Overview: Led a 30-people team to implement Yahoo Search's first interactive map from 0-to-1. Obtained funding from executives for further development

Duration: 2 months of ideation & presentation, 7 months of iteration & launch

Team members: Linh Tran, Sophia Chen & the Yahoo Search Local team

Biggest achievement: Awarded 1st prize (out of 200 submissions) in company’s hackathon

Overview

Yahoo Search Goal

Problem

Users frequently add the word “map” after searching for a city (e.g., “Los Angeles → Los Angeles map”), indicating a gap between what Yahoo Search provides and what users actually want—a quick and easy way to view city maps.

This behavior appears in ~20% of all location-related searches.

Solution

Build an interactive map that not only shows the city, but also surfaces attractions, hotels, and restaurants.

Why does it matter?

There’s clear unmet user need for map-based results, especially in the travel category.
Travel-related searches are high-volume and have strong follow-up intent (e.g., for restaurants, hotels, activities).
Solving this can improve user retention, search session length, and overall experience, positioning Yahoo as a go-to tool for travel planning.

My Role

Identified the opportunity and pitched the feature concept to leadership, securing approval to move forward
Defined the vision and scope, aligning goals across cross-functional teams
Led the product from 0→1, overseeing all phases—from ideation and user research to design, development, and iteration
Acted as the central point of coordination, ensuring timely execution and stakeholder alignment throughout the process
Drove meaningful user outcomes, including increased engagement with map features and longer search session times

Problem to be Solved

1. Business Problem

Through data analysis, we found a repeated user behavior: many users added the word "map" to their searches.
- For example, after searching "Los Angeles," users would often search again for "Los Angeles map" to find a map of the city. This pattern appeared in about 20% of all location-related searches.

This revealed a clear gap between Yahoo Search product and user's needs: an easy way to view a city map.

2. User Problem

Now that we identified that Yahoo Search needs a map solution, what search use cases do we focus on?
I choose the "Travel" use case for 3 reasons:
- Travel is one of the biggest search categories
- Big user need to solve (after searching for location, users have the need for "things to do," "restaurants," and "hotels."
- Opportunity to prolong the search session for users

3. Problem Scope conclusion

Problem Statement: How do we create a travel experience on Yahoo Map?
Goal: User Retention & User Experience
What Success looks like: Yahoo is a good search engine when it comes to travel and map

Execution

Why is this problem important?

MVP

Our approach

Metrics Analysis

1. How was I measuring metrics?

I did a phased rollout to measure user's interaction to the feature: 5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 70%, and 100% of users.
Each testing period lasts around 2 weeks for statistically significant results

2. What metrics am I tracking?

Click Through Rate (CTR): Tracks how often users click on the map module
- → Helps measure map usage
Search Session (Long Dwell Time): Measures how long users stay on the search results page
- → Indicates overall engagement
Scroll Past rate: Measures whether users interact with the map or scroll past i
- → Shows relevance and whether the map is helpful