Ask Jeeves Steps out from under Google’s Ad Umbrella

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Ask Jeeves has been a faithful butler; the ads it has served up as an affiliate of Google's sponsored listing program provided it with more than half of its revenue last year. So why is this arguably second-tier search engine striking out with its own sponsored listing program? What will Google think? And should you consider using it?

It can be hard to tell, because so many people who use and advertise with search engines focus on the wildly popular Google and Yahoo!, but Ask Jeeves is a dot-com success story. The search engine that encouraged people to ask natural language questions lived independently for nine years before Barry Diller and his InterActiveCorp purchased the company in a deal valued at nearly $2 billion, completed in mid-July. Diller has a reputation for shaking things up. While the first big announcement from Ask Jeeves after the purchase is more of a baby step – and was underway before Diller bought the company – it may have a large effect.

On August 1, Ask Jeeves announced that it was creating an automated advertising product. Dubbed Ask Jeeves Sponsored Listings, it gives users the opportunity to advertise directly with the search engine, without going through an account rep. Indeed, the program replaces the company’s Premier Listings service, which was mostly available only to high-end advertisers planning to spend a significant amount of money anyway.

The new program operates on a basis that will be familiar to many purchasers of ads with other search engines. Advertisers will bid for placement of ads that Ask Jeeves will serve to its users when they type keywords into the search engine. With some justification, Ask Jeeves Sponsored Listings has been described as a copycat of Google’s and Yahoo!’s programs. Presumably, one can expect the Ask Jeeves program to have the same advantages and drawbacks as those programs – but with a smaller market reach. In June, comScore Networks, a global company that offers insight into consumer behavior, reported on Ask Jeeves’ standing in the U.S. search engine market. It was enough to make even an unflappable butler show a shadow of a frown: a fifth-place finish, with only six percent of the market share.

So why is this move worth talking about? To understand that, it is worth backing up a little for the sake of examining the context.

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Comments On: Ask Jeeves Steps out from under Google’s Ad Umbrella

· Would you consider advertising with Ask Jeeves? Have you already done so? And what...    · I had some questions before I got started about policy, etc. They were pretty quick...    · Thanks for letting us know about your experience! I hope they get the bugs worked...    · I think this is not a bad option .i think askjeeves is planning to increase its...    · That would be very cool. So far, Ask Jeeves has been following Google and Yahoo when...    · I had this happen too, but then realized that if your overall bid amount is below...   >>> Post your comment now!