Looksmart to Challange Google

Offers portals an alternative

[ptietze]

I came across this article today. Jist is that Google is encroaching on the portals' webshare by offering new portal-like features. Looksmart offers the portals an alternative search engine and does not compete with them.

[sanjose.bizjournals.com...]

Found this on Goggle News.

[jeremy goodrich]

After reading that, I can only say one thing: LookSmart thinks they are a candidate for the Yahoo! deal?

I don't think so. Perhaps they should have brought up why they have a new CEO instead of talking about things that probably won't happen...

All the discussions we've had here on Google / Yahoo renewal / not, Yahoo! switching to Ink or Fast...hm. LookSmart needs to focus their business energies on something other than PR spin that doesn't quite add up to sense.

[WebGuerrilla]

They may not have a realistic shot at the Yahoo deal, but I think they will announce a few quality partnerships over the next few months.

They've been crawling like crazy. With a nice new index, they would be an attractive (and less expensive)alternative to Google.

[Brad]

The big portals might prefer Google and FAST but there are still all those regional ISP's that offer default portals to their customers. Looksmart might be aiming for that market. If they can undercut the price of Google they might have a market.

Also many newspapers offer search on their news portals.

[chiyo]

<giggle giggle>

They have a long way to go before they have a relevant, up to date, and non-commercial index. PFI is dead. It can never create a good, objective mainstream index. Lofty aims are great, but major changes need to be made before they start challenging Google and Fast and some others as a source of useful SERPS.

[heini]

Well, it may not be a popular view, but I don't see Ink being such an unattractive alternative to Google.

Just like Fast they offer an invaluable advantage to Google: No competition.

Imagine Google adding News, Catalogue search, product search(Amazon, Ebay and the likes), adding weather search, adding financial search and news services: they'd blow all portals out of the water.

Ink has been spidering like any other major engine for quite a while, and apart from the paid listings their ranking algo is not bad at all.

[jeremy goodrich]

Their index still needs to be sped up. Even if they tweak the algo to match or better Google, (which I believe is possible) to woo the crowds, they will need to have Google's speed.

I'm just not sure that IIS makes that possible...

[Abrexa_UK]

"Imagine Google adding News, Catalogue search, product search(Amazon, Ebay and the likes), adding weather search, adding financial search and news services: they'd blow all portals out of the water."

Heini - isn't that Yahoo now? Yahoo is the portal version of Google. Perhaps this is the approach that they planned all along, in conjunction with Google.

[mbauser2]

There's a difference between "challenging Google" and "being a challenge to Google". Every dumbass with a search engine (Teoma, Wisenut, Openfind, etc.) claims they're challenging Google; none of them are offering serious competition.

Even the article you're citing doesn't consider Looksmart a contender.

Looksmart offers the portals an alternative search engine and does not compete with them.

Last time I looked (2 minutes ago), looksmart.com was lot more portal-like than Google. Google doesn't have an Auctions page or an Automotive section: Looksmart does.

[ggrot]

Looksmart may also be trying to compete with overture.