Ask overhauls its web search

Ask.com has announced that it is overhauling its search engine in an effort to improve search accuracy and speed of delivery.

The search engine, owned by web specialist IAC, hopes the changes will help it to compete with market leader Google.

Jim Safka, chief executive of Ask, said that the company could win customers with a search that is 30 per cent faster than before. Early tests showed a 16 per cent increase in the rate at which customers returned to use its new search page, he said.

The company argues it can take advantage of the distractions facing competitors such as Yahoo and Microsoft, who have spent most of the year in on-off merger talks.

"We view this as a 24-month window of opportunity that we can drive a truck through," Safka said.

The majority of Ask's revenue comes through a search advertising partnership with Google, which brings up links of relevant advertisers in response to a user's search query. IAC said in July that Ask's revenue per query increased last quarter thanks to the improved economics of the much larger Google search ad platform.

Yahoo reached a similar agreement with Google in June.. That deal has been opposed by some industry watchers on anti-trust grounds and is being reviewed by regulators.

"It's all about growth, this category is growing no matter what the economy is doing," said Safka.

Safka added its relaunched search engine will improve search relevance by adding structured data feeds to its results rather than finding random or unorganised data from around the web like most search engines do.

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