With the latest revamp of its search tool, Yahoo! has captured one of the key elements of a satisfying user experience: simplicity.

Following on the heels of Google, which set the gold standard for minimalist Web searching, Yahoo! has completely retooled its core search process, focusing on two primary areas: the search interface and the results pages.

The first step to a better user experience was a more streamlined input page. In fact, Yahoo!’s new search page now contains not much more than the text input box, six tabs and a search button, a far cry from its previously cluttered interface.

Similarly, the new design cleans up the results page as well. Instead of running banner advertisements, text-based ads are the norm. Fewer dividers between sections and a reduced-but-legible font size also add to the clarity of the page, significantly enhancing the user experience.