Rolling out the Beta

From the inbox

[startup]

Dear Web Professional,

You've requested more information about FAST PartnerSite, the Web's first integrated site search and search engine inclusion service. We are putting the finishing touches on the FAST PartnerSite beta program and will be launching it shortly. When ready, we will be asking you for your participation. As a beta participant, FAST will:

- index your entire website,
- host search for your site in our FAST Search web index,
- provide you with a search bar for your customers to search your site.

All this is free of charge during the beta program.

FAST PartnerSite will help attract visitors to your site and make it easy for them to find what they're looking for when they get there. We're looking forward to helping your web site get found...FAST! In the meantime, please feel free to download our data sheet or review FAST PartnerSite on our web site.

[Air]

Wonder what happens when the beta is over - pay, or site disappears?

[startup]

Keep building and submitting, I haven't paid an SE yet.

Sorry SB, I need the log stats to backup the investment.

[caine]

Good point Air. I'm definetly Skeptical on this beta affiliation, as your basically signing up for the ransom, and x-potential cost, and if you chose not to pay, forget about your site, Fast will dump it or burry it.

[angiolo]

I do not think Fast will penalize the beta testers.
Why should Fast penalize them?
They can better spend their time!

[caine]

Angiolo,

I am not that skeptical - i do see what you mean, but can you be certain.

[stephen baker]

PartnerSite customers will be handled by a separate crawler than the big search index (this is required to maintain the SLA's that we are offering). When someone registers for PartnerSite, dup detection will be performed as part of synchronizing the PartnerSite and Web Search indexes. Beta testers will be offered an incentive to continue with the program after the beta phase is over (extended period of free service, discount, or something of the sort). If a beta partner chooses not to coninue with the program after the beta period has ended, then yes, the URL's will be dropped from the PartnerSite crawler, and since they have been removed from the Web Search crawler (through de-dup) they will temporarily be absent from the big index until that index has completed it's next crawl cycle and refresh. However, as you all know, crawling has no guarantees and it might take some time to get back into the big index. We are currently exploring the possibility of automatically auto-adding the TLD of a cancelled PartnerSite to the Web Search Crawler's to-do list, so that re-submission is not required. I'll keep you posted as we solidify the plans around this.

[ggrot]

Why should they put you back. They now have you on a list of sites that do SEO to manipulate THEIR results, and you are more likely to pay if you aren't getting ANY traffic otherwise. They cant do this with regular sites, or they wouldnt have an index...but beta testers are fair game. Think motives.

[caine]

I agree with you ggrot, and reading Stephen_Baker's explanation of the Beta Affiliates Process, and the fact that you will lose your listing if you decide not to pay is enough evidence.

As for motive's well.

New to the submitting are we, SEO trying to get ahead, join our program and get better ranks - then pay us or we will drop you out of the index and you have to wait for the recrawl for re-entry. (possible flagging - condemed never to be in the top 10 - never).

Stay were i am thank you very much.

[toolman]

With all due respect to Fast I can't honestly say that any amount of money spent on their paid spidering program is a worthwhile investment inside the US. Fast just doesn't produce here.

[startup]

Thank You, Stephan Baker. I liked your reply and I now may try the beta program.

It is rare to get a reply from an Se, Fast is the only one to repond that I know of. Could it be possible that this is one Se that does not view SEOs as the enemy?

Getting relevent, quality, websites to the top listenings is our job. If, we do it correctly everyone wins.

[Mike_Mackin]

I would think that Stephan didn't fly down to London to meet with the enemy on the 21st.

[Haakon]

I`m in as a beta tester for sure. Why are you so sceptical when Stephen Baker (He`s a representative, right?) has thought about your problem before you mentioned it and is trying to solve it.

Two questions I would like answered.
-The partner sites are going to be crawled each day, but do the new listing come up every day in alltheweb searches?
-Is the database presently updating every 9-12 days?
Thanks

[Air]

>Wonder what happens when the beta is over ...

Thanks Stephen, I appreciate the response. Sounds fair.

[backus]

I cannot believe a man who once said, "Fast has no plans for a paid inclusion service." Yet not a week later Fast announces this hovno (Czech for a bad word)!