In the earlier days of the Internet, a new search engine idea was launched around the concept that humans wanted answers to questions written in a simple and conversational format. To brand the new search engine, the site's marketers used the analogy of a butler - who would go get exactly what you asked for, and server it up to you on a platter. The new search engine was www.askjeeves.com - and the branded character was the butler 'Jeeves'. For a brief period (while the company spent loads of money on huge advertising and branding efforts) Ask Jeeves was met with mild success.

The search landscape is now dramatically different. According to the most recent data from ComScore on August search engine market share, the now re-named Ask.com network occupies a mere 4.8 percent of the U.S. search market. Compare this to search engine giants Google and Yahoo at 63.0 percent and 19.6 percent respectively, and it is apparent that Ask.com is clinging to a niche in U.S. search.

In an effort to gain more traction in the marketplace, Ask.com has once again completely revamped its search engine as of October 6, 2008. The changes are both cosmetic and internal, as the company tries to somehow compete in a market that has nearly solidified with Google reigning supreme. In reviewing the changes, one sees many aspects of the new Ask.com that reflect an almost mirror image of Google. According to Ask.com the fundamental changes and their impact are:

Serving Up the Best Answer - the company claims to have made ''massive improvements'' to its search technology in order to deliver an answer that is the best answer, the first time, every time.

Generating Search Results Quickly - apparently the previous version of Ask.com which served up a variety of data in three separate columns, including (for many searches) photos and graphics, was a bit slow - especially when compared against the blistering response times of Google. The company now claims that the new version of the site is ''lightning fast''. On a high speed Internet connection the results pages loaded about as fast as one might reasonably expect.

More Accurate Answers with Fewer Clicks - rather than skirt you off to an array of websites in search of a simple answer, the new Ask.com just, well...answers the question. For example, for the query: What is a good credit score? the answer comes right on at the top of the results page with a small graphical 'answer' button next to it. In case you are wondering, the answer according to Ask.com is: ''A good credit score is considered to be about 700 out of 850''.

So the real question that remains (no pun intended) is this: Can Ask.com ever really compete with Google in search? While the search landscape seems to have matured in recent years, to presume that the market share numbers will remain static is almost certainly in error. The reason is complex. There is, of course, the technology. While Google has a great technology that suits the current platform and user base, many changes are on the horizon for the Internet. As one example, just look at the explosion of video in the past three years. Language based search does a pretty poor job of cataloging video in any meaningful way. That presents an opportunity for a new and disruptive technology to unseat the search leaders - at least in that niche (but key) area. Reputation may also be key in market share shifts in search. While Google has thus far generally lived up to its 'Don't be evil' mantra, as more employees and complexity enter the corporation - there exists the real possibility that a rogue internal element will sabotage the company's reputation - we hope by accident and not design.

One other thought on the subject of search engine market share: What's wrong with having 4.8 percent of U.S. searches anyway? According to Quantcast, Google reached 136 million people in August 2008. So that means that Ask.com reached around 10.4 million U.S. searchers in the month of August. That's a huge volume of unique searchers - no matter how you view it. Those searchers are also returning to Ask.com each month and despite the fact that the market growth is somewhat small, Ask.com is actually growing market share. This Hitwise data reveals that market share for Ask.com was just 3.37 percent in August 2006, growing to 3.49 percent in August 2007 and as mentioned above the market share now stands at 4.8 percent in August 2008.

Only time will tell if the new changes at Ask.com will continue to build on the market share gains of the past. It seems likely, however, that the recent changes enacted at the site will at best keep the status quo - rather than disrupt the search landscape in a way that Ask.com would desire.

To see the description at Ask.com of the new site changes, please visit: http://sp.ask.com/en/docs/about/welcome_new.shtml. One can test out the new Ask.com website at: http://www.ask.com.

This content was written by Derek Vaughan and appears courtesy of the VPS and managed server experts at HostMySite.com.

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Published on: 2008-10-06 (403 reads)