Jennifer Zaino
SemanticWeb.com Contributor

Yahoo continues to make semantic waves. It has reported on its search blog that the results of three SearchMonkey applications — Yelp, Yahoo!Local, and LinkedIn Enhanced — now will appear automatically in search results. These three applications were among the first to share structured data, one of the requirements for making an application a default choice at Yahoo Search.

Yelp, developed by a Yahoo user, provides useful information about local businesses, including previews of photos, reviews, ratings, addresses, and phone numbers while you search. Yahoo! Local is a comprehensive business directory, and within Yahoo! Search you can view LinkedIn public profiles in a richer format if the LinkedIn members have claimed a custom public profile URL.

The number of SearchMonkey applications on the Yahoo! Search Gallery totals 56 at this point, and Yahoo is promising to turn more on as default applications, according to Amit Kumar, the director of product management at Yahoo! Search, who posted the notice. Recently Yahoo announced the winners of its first SearchMonkey Developers’ Challenge, which included the StumbleOpon Infobar that draws in ratings, tags and links to other users; the BooRah restaurant review Infobar; a service that adds photos, prices and release dates to search results for Xbox games; and the Blogspot Infobar, which won the grand prize for displaying links to recent posts for all Blogspot search results.

Everyone probably is starting to accumulate their personal favorites among the SearchMonkey apps. Here are a few Semanticweb.com thinks are worth noting:

HomeStars: An infobar for anyone addicted to HGTV — and aiming to satisfy the home renovations itch. The infobar provides information on local renovators, retailers and repairman with enhanced Yahoo! Search results, including reviews and ratings.

L.L. Bean Catalog Item Display: As the fall looms ahead, a shopper’s thoughts turn to outdoor wear, and so to L.L. Bean. This infobar lets potential buyers get details upfront (including images and prices) about parkas, boots and all the other cold weather wear you can’t wait to get back into — or not.

Car & Driver Buying Guide: Whether your lease is about to run out or you are just determined to trade in your gas-guzzling SUV for a SmartCar before the month is out, this enhancement revs up the search results for Car & Driver’s Buying Guide.

WebMD. There’s so much information on health out there, and sometimes you just want to get right to the “heart” of the matter, so to speak. This provides enhanced search results from the popular medical information web site, including direct links to an overview of a condition, news about it, treatment options or video.

HowStuffWorks. Got a kid who constantly asks “How?” and “Why?” If you need a little help explaining what makes an airplane fly before you head off on that vacation to Florida, check out this enhancement that improves search results for the site with extra details and video links.

SemTechBiz is Less Than 2 Weeks Away

The Semantic Tech & Business Conference (SemTechBiz) is coming to San Francisco on June 3-7! Join us for case studies, innovative panels, tutorials, and keynotes that will provide you with practical advice, hands-on guidance, and breakthrough approaches to solving business problems with semantic technology. Passes go up $200 at the door. Sign up now and save !