Ask.com’s New Look Is Lean, Mean, And A Searching Machine
Ask.com recently revised its look. It’s not bad.
While the search engine still has some obvious deficiencies when compared to Google (lack of personalization, for instance), it does have some charm with the new look. There is a lot less to look at, which means there is a lot more to admire. That’s a big step in the right direction.
The new Ask goes for simplicity, the Google way. All the hype on the right side of the screen is gone and have been replaced with a simple search box in the center of the screen, above which are five little icons to give searchers a small selection of services. I actually like this better than Google’s and Yahoo’s endless drop down menu, a smorgasbord of choice they are.
Another feature of the new Ask is its personalized look and feel. This is a bit more graphic than Google’s and Yahoo’s personalized home pages and it doesn’t allow you to choose what services you display, but that’s not the point either. Ask’s version of personalization is a skin version that gives the searcher a graphically personalized search screen rather than the plain white vanilla you get at Google. I’m ambivalent about whether or not this is a plus, but if anyone likes it (and I’m sure some people will) then it will no doubt have a pay off for Ask.
The beautiful thing about Ask’s search personalization is that you can click one of the icons above the search box and perform a search for your keyword across the entire Web, for images only, use Ask’s famous City feature (which I’ve always liked), search news, and search blogs. That’s rather scaled down. And, really, what more do I need?
Do you really need to search Google for patent information? You can go to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website and get the same information. So what’s the point? I can see a purpose for Google Books, but not many people are currently using it so it has really provided a huge benefit to many of us so far. And Google Base? Does anyone even understand how to use it? I don’t think so.
Not to denigrate Google because it does have some great user functions, but Ask is lean and mean. And many of the search results are actually more relevant than they are at Google. That is a big surprise, but it’s true. I’m not telling you to use Ask, but I am saying don’t discount it. And if you are a search marketer, you should pay attention to it more now than ever.
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