Google’s dominance in the online search realm is well documented, as are Yahoo’s hitherto unsuccessful attempts to reclaim the search crown for itself. Unfortunately for Yahoo, its 23 percent share of the search market is still less than half of Google’s formidable 56.5 percent share, according to the AP.

But Yahoo, like the little engine that could, just won’t give up. (Ok, with revenues in excess of $6 billion last year, perhaps comparing Yahoo to a make-believe, little blue train with the engine power of a Dodge Dart is a bit of a stretch, but you get my point.)

Today, Yahoo announced the debut of Search Assist, what the company says is “the most advanced assistance technology available on the Web.” Essentially, with Search Assist enabled, users are offered suggestions as they type search terms on Yahoo’s home page.

For instance, when I began typing New England Patriots, — who demolished the Cincinnati Bengals Monday by 21 points, in case you missed it — into Yahoo’s search field, by the time I finished typing just New E, a number of suggestions popped up below. They included new era, new edition and, of course, new england patriots.

But that’s not all. Yahoo also announced search results will now include content of all types, including video, audio and photos. Hmm. Where have I heard this before? Oh yeah, Google started doing the same thing four months ago, calling it Universal Search. Better late than never, right Yahoo?

But I kid. Actually, Yahoo adding integrated search results four months after Google did the same thing is pretty good time when you think about it. Remember the Panama delays anyone?

So does this mean Yahoo is on the verge of toppling Google? Not exactly, but it should at least get people talking about the company again. As Standard & Poor’s equity analyst Scott Kessler told the AP:

“Is this (upgrade) going to be very important in terms of market share? I’m not so sure. But it probably will help them in terms of mind share,” Kessler said. “One of the reasons that Google has captured the imaginations of so many people is they have been doing so many different and interesting things.”

Put another way, Yahoo has an image problem. Over the last several years we’ve witnessed some truly remarkable technology developments in the form of Web 2.0, from the rise of social networking sites (i.e., MySpace and Facebook) to the emergence of cloud computing (a.k.a. Software as a Service). The result? Web 1.0 companies, like Yahoo, seem quickly old and out of touch.

You can argue that such a perception is wrong or shortsighted, but it nonetheless exists . For Yahoo to become relevant again, it needs to take bold steps to prove it “gets it.” Search Assist and integrated search results are moves in the right direction, as was the recent acquisition of Zimbra and its open source online office suite. Yahoo still has a long way to go to catch Google, but if it keeps this up, it might just turn this thing around after all.