Ask.co.uk Recent Searches

Questions or Keywords?

[xcandyman]

Since the new update of the ask.co.uk website I have noticed under their recent searches section they have now put the "actual searches" people are using on ask.co.uk. Before Ask.co.uk changed the format of the searches to:

Where can I find *item* in *place*?

You can now see barely no-one actually searches the way ask wants them to they just 2-3 word phrases *not* in the question format. Ask has noticed this and changed there frontpage not to include an example of a search in the question format.

Big shift in ideas I say.

Steve

[Shak]

[ask.co.uk...]

hit refresh a few times :)

Shak

[xcandyman]

Hi Shak

I don't think you know what I'm getting at I know where I can find recent searches on ask I was commenting on how people search on ask and how its not how ask would have liked it.

They always wanted for people to search in question format not by keywords and phrases.

Now they have changed the recent searches (they manipulated peoples searches before to question format and then put it in the recent searches section)

Jeeve's waking up smelling the coffee?

[Shak]

excellent find, and I was sharing the URL with fellow members :)

you are absolutely correct in the search patterns of ask.co.uk users, that its not what they wanted us to do.

Shak

[mole]

When I first discovered Ask Jeeves I submitted queries in the 'question' format and got pretty useless results.

Since then I've just thrown keywords at it and get fairly reasonable responses.

Maybe that's what other people are doing too? - we've just given up on the question format for Ask 'cos it doesn't really work.

[xcandyman]

People are always in a hurry on the net and it takes more time to do a search in question format. The whole point of Ask is or shall I say "was" for people to search in question format thats where ask is flawed.

You can even go to ask.com's popular searches. The top rising search for last week was "bible". Need I say more.

[mole]

My view is that it's the relevance of the results that saves you time, not how you phrase the request.

For example, try this "how do I connect my Windows 98 PC to a Windows 2000 domain" - put that into Google - great results.

Then try the same 'question' on Ask - results are hopeless.