Searching in the Address Bar

New Language Technology : company sells 1 year rights

[WebStart]

I posted this in a different forum, but have had no response, maybe it is a slow weekend on webmaster world or maybe where I posted was a little used forum, but would appreciate any response to this.

Got a call from a sales rep selling what used to be the old 'Real Names' technology for searching in the address bar.

Deal is: buy from this company very broad keywords like "widgets" for one year, (renewable after one year at same price) for -- quite frankly -- very reasonable rates, and when searchers type in the address bar of their browsers: "widgets" -- they go to your site. You can also buy more refined search terms down to 2 word keywords (ie: widgets x) and 3 word keywords (widgets xx) at again, very affordable rates for one year. Maybe $500 for one year on the 3 word keywords. They claim millions of web-ignorant people already do this and are taken by default to MSN.com's search engine. They have a deal 'soon to be inked with xxxx' (I am not sure what I can say, here, as a new member, about xxxx - but it is a major, big time player in Internet Gateway Security for payment transactions on the web) that will offer any visitor to sites using xxxx's services, upon exit, an opportunity to enable their browser to use this Natural language technology (the enabling is free).

Once that happens, of course, you could have lots of people (34 million was the estimate for the US) enabled to use this technology.

Has anyone else heard of this, and what do you think of it?

My own thought is : most searchers want options. When I am on the Interstate driving, I won't stop where the exit has only one gas station, or one fast food place. I want choices.

Same on the Internet -- I suspect. Plus, with Google's really really really rigid rules for buying ads on their Ad Select Program for relevancy, I suspect that targeted traffic is far more important for ROI than broader traffic. But this could be like having a blinking billboard on the Internet Highway for Brand Recognition, not just ROI. So you would think big players would sign up -- and some have. I will not mention them here because of what I understand your rules to be regarding giving unwarranted commercial endorsements; but some big players have signed up in some retail areas, and by the same token, there is an absence of many others.

Would like to know if anyone is familiar with this? Just a scam or is this for real?

[martinibuster]

I wouldn't touch it. RealNames was partnered with MS. MS owned 97% of the browsers in the world. RealNames went broke and never sent anybody any significant traffic.

Even with the overwhelmingly SIGNIFICANT assist from Microsoft, this manner of promotion STILL spiralled downwards on a barbed wire.

This company most likely doesn't have the backing of a partner with 97% market penetration, so no one basically has a reason to stand up and listen, much less get excited about it.

[pageoneresults]

I think it also requires that the user have a special toolbar installed where they enter the search queries. As mentioned, RealNames is dead here in the US.

[WebStart]

I really appreciate the feedback. I got highly suspicious when the CEO of this company that was "selling" me this "opportunity" wanted a company check from me overnighted to them. Thanks.

Although there have been only 2 responses to my question, it's enough to make me say no.

But also, this is what makes webmastersworld of great value. You help novices. Thanks.

[Marcia]

There have been a couple of threads about this, and the consensus is decidedly negative.

[thunderpaste]

I have been contacted by three companies offering to sell me keywords. My request to them was to send me some sort of research by a third party regarding their market penetration (like Overture does) Or give me a look at their search frequencies for the people already using their system(like Overture does) All they would all tell me is the Overture search numbers. Gee thanks. I asked them to FAX or email me this stuff and they said sure they would "right away". I never heard back.

When the last guy called I was already more than a little suspicious so I was a bit disalusioned. The last thing the guy told me was to come back in a year "when Google is gone and there might be some scrap keywords left"!

For some reason that did not scare me!

Conclusion: These guys are not even a flash in the pan like Realnames was.

[rcjordan]

>Or give me a look at their search frequencies for the people already using their system

Yup, they've hit me too. The ones I get seem to be targeting CEOs of small companies, offering the chance to lock in your company and/or domain name. (I confess, we had a little fun with them here backstage.) If you start asking for hard stats they'll disappear pretty quickly.

[defanjos]

I am usually not polite, I tell them right away it is a scam, and they hang up the phone.
If it was a legitimate business they would stay on the phone and explain to me why it was not a scam.

I had calls at least 6-8 times in the past 6 months.

[WebStart]

Thanks again. I will say one thing (if I can, without violating the rules here): they claim Disney has bought "Movie," Yahoo! has bought the term "sports," and MSN the keywords "Merchant Services," and if you use their demo to see who has bought what, Yahoo! Disney & MSN have bought those keywords.

They also claim Yahoo! is negotiating to buy "search". They also claim, in their demo, some other big Fortune 500s who have bought terms and their demo shows those keywords for those Fortune 500s, yet some biggies you would expect to have bought keywords, in fact many you would have thought would have bought keywords, like coca cola, or pepsi, or Ford or GM -- have not.

My guess is it is one of those things: a risky bet on a small part of the future of searching on the web; or a real scam. Buy their program and risk buying the Brooklyn Bridge, or buy it and maybe it is a little better than and more than Real Names was, but not exactly buying the Brooklyn Bridge.

Would be interested if anyone else has had an experience with this "new language searching technology" . The owner of this tech is
(hope I do not violate your rules but want to give as much info as possible) -- www.igetnet.com. They sell it, and have resellers for it, and it was a reseller who contacted me.