Inktomi and MSN

why so much difference?

[HuhuFruFru]

when i search for certain keywords for my site and compare the search on positiontech with msn (on msn.at for example) there is *huge difference* between the serp's.

why is that?

[Nick_W]

I think different sites can apply different filters to the results. Probably MSN is more 'family friendly' or something...

Nick

[korkus2000]

With MSN you don't only get ink, but Overture first, then Looksmart, and Ink fills in the rest. I think MSN might have a filter for ink results also.

[tigger]

don't forget also the PPC results from Overture & listings from Looksmart that will be displayed before poor old ink shows :)

LOL beat me by 1 minute :)

[HuhuFruFru]

you mean overture and looksmart in the *regular* results?

that's bad! i subscribed yesterday for basic submit at positiontech :( so no chance to be in top ten without being in overture and looksmart?

[korkus2000]

You need to play the backfill. I get some good traffic because my search terms have no Overture or Looksmart listings.

[defanjos]

HuhuFruFru,

The trick is to target word combinations that are not targeted on Overture, for example 3 word combinations, misspellings, etc.

[makemetop]

Don't forget that MSN uses Inktomi's geo-targeting feature. Results on regional MSNs will give a boost to sites (in Inktomi) which Inktomi sees as being from that region. This is NOT a filter. Sites which are seen as being the most popular will still appear - regardless of the area they are in - but it can make huge differences to the rankings in the Inktomi portion of MSN searches depending on the MSN portal you are searching through.

Inktomi's search results via HotBot are 'pure' - every single MSN search has the regional bias applied to some extent - including MSN.com.

[HuhuFruFru]

and how do they know where a .org-site or .net-site is from? do they look it up in the whois?

[korkus2000]

IPs, link structures, and just keywords on the page. Also domain name extensions like .co.uk.