Secondly once they go, will it be Inktomi, another database or are they creating their own.
And what a time to change your database, just before Christmas.
In the long-term expect something from the MS stable to replace INK - but it will be sometime yet.
long term MSN's own search engine possibly before the year end.
DaveN
Do Inktomi still use Meta Tags for their ranking criteria or is it more complex than that now?
I have a dynamic site and if it is Meta Tags per page then I may have a problem.
Shak
trusted feed from Looksmart into Inktomi at a cost per click model.
but thats short term MSN have drawn a line, Looksmart even said it wasn't a monetary issue, MSN will roll it's own index out over the fourth coming months.
Personally the bad press that L$ gets can only follow into Ink, why can't I rank in Inktomi because a trusted feed is taking all the top slots.
I also read that Microsoft after recent testing if they dropped the LookSmart's listings, search relevance actually increased.
DaveN
added article [theage.com.au...]
DaveN
Submit-A-Site results will not receive inclusion in MSN search results from January 2004
DaveN
Where will the L$ UK directory results appear once MSN drops it? Do they have any other partners?
DaveN
another article : [isedb.com...]
Shak
Then click on FAQ page and back to site-submit homepage you will be directed to: [submit.looksmart.co.uk...]
Lots of information about paying 149quid but no mention of missing MSN!
£00k$mart? seems you can say that again.
I would use them!, let's stop the looksmart bashing and see what they do next, you never know they may just suprise us all.
DaveN
I have found looksmartUK very helpful and easy to deal with, seems to be a very different experience from the US experience.
I would like to be surprised by looksmartUK ; I think the looksmart bashing is more directed at the US version.
Is that the list of affiliates for Looksmart or Looksmart UK? Or are they the same thing?
I am fairly certain that Looksmart is not on the list of UK Infospace partners:
Google, Overture, Ask Jeeves, Espotting, Teoma, About, Fast, Mirago, Turbo 10, Thomson WebFinder, Open Directory
I only make the distinction because it seems a bit pricey to pay £149+VAT to get into a directory with no other outlets. Looksmart UK does get some traffic, but given that it is number 31 on my little chart, it will no longer justify the price tag IMHO.
The problem is that Looksmart UK was never pushed as a destination site as far as I am aware - they always depended on MSN to bring in the punters.
Was OK
But now pricey? Yes I think so.
Would I spend that now NO.
We need to sit this one out a bit, see what happens.
The problem is that Looksmart UK was never pushed as a destination site as far as I am aware - they always depended on MSN to bring in the punters.
As I said let's see what they come up with, I know what I would do if my back was up against the wall, let see what they do, there is always AOL they could go for and so many others in the UK.
They just have to provide a good working model with market penetration
DaveN
Is Looksmart UK just going to be surviving from advertising revenue? If so, we can expect the number of staff to be reduced to just a couple I imagine.
On the plus side for them, I imagine that a lot of UK webmasters are aware of them due to the MSN connection, and they probably have a lot of contact details, but they are still tainted to some extent by the US PPC "incident".
I think that we need to distingiush between the LS US and LS UK offerings because they are very different for the moment. If they relaunched their PPC offerings properly then perhaps they could enter as a second/third tier PPC engine, to compete with Webfinder and Mirago?
I hope that generates enough traffic to make up my impending temporary doom...
I think that we need to distingiush between the LS US and LS UK offerings because they are very different for the moment. If they relaunched their PPC offerings properly then perhaps they could enter as a second/third tier PPC engine, to compete with Webfinder and Mirago?
without a doubt, the Uk team should not be responsible for their cousins across the pond.
I still say, all is not lost, there must be a way for them to stay in the game.
Shak
let's discuss it here [webmasterworld.com...]
DaveN
