Recently in Ask Category

While a lot of SEO experts tend to diss other search engines, such as MSN and Ask, I've always felt that it was a bad idea to ignore their users. A customer (visitor) is still a customer regardless of how they ended up on your website. A few months ago I did a bit of not too scientific analysis of browsers etc., that were being used to access a number of sites that I manage. The results reinforced my suspicions. But what about the search engines? What are people actually looking for? Is there a significant difference between a Google user and a Yahoo! user? The 2006 Search Wrap-Up would seem to suggest that there are some significant differences. Google users tend to be more technical it seems, while Yahoo! users are into popular culture if the top search terms of 2006 are anything to go by. From an SEO perspective I guess that means that you still can't ignore Yahoo! et al :)

Ask.com are currently working on a new "top secret" interface currently called Ask X. Like so many of these betas it's not a particularly well kept secret :)

Thanks for stumbling upon Ask X, our double-secret sandbox for testing Ask experiences of the future. In today's version of Ask X, you're not just getting back a list of links, but a slick, new three-panel interface (much like the new AskCity), combining great time-saving features like: * Left: A search control panel that stays with you, complete with Zoom Related Search and Search Suggestions that update as you type. * Middle: Results front and center to provide clutter-free information without having to scroll down the page, and Binoculars to preview results. * Right: A preview of other types of search results, including video, news, images, blogs, shopping, encyclopedia and more.

It's not that different to some of the other interfaces its competitors have been playing with, but it's still quite nice