Ask.com has a record of coming up with interesting innovations that are often copied by others in the Internet search business. Yet those innovations have done little to help the company expand its share of the search audience. Ask.com remains a distant fourth in a market that is overwhelmingly dominated by Google.
That history is not stopping Ask.com from trying again. On Monday, the company is rolling out a revamped version of its search engine, the first major overhaul since Jim Safka replaced Jim Lanzone as chief executive in January. “We have rebuilt the Ask site from the ground up,” said Mr. Safka, who previously served as chief executive of Match.com.
In its latest iteration, Ask.com will deliver results not only from the Web, but also from so-called “structured” sources of data in certain categories like entertainment, health and jobs. The results are intended to deliver faster answers to certain queries, Mr. Safka said. For instance, a search for “Miley Cyrus” will include TV listings for the series “Hannah Montana” in which she stars.
The new Ask.com also includes an index of various question-and-answer sites from around the Web, including Yahoo Answers and WikiAnswers, that proves effective at returning results for some queries posed as questions. “Some of the best content is coming from individuals, not necessarily from professional publishers,” Mr. Safka said.
Mr. Safka said that the new Ask.com is faster and returns more relevant results for common queries than in the past. But the revamped site backtracks on some earlier innovations. Instead of the three-panel results page which the company unveiled last year, it now delivers results in an easier-to-read two-panel format.
“They are doing some good work,” said Charlene Li, an independent analyst. “It is really impressive how innovative they are with a really small technology team. But is it a game-changer? I don’t think so.”
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