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Search Engines, directories, affiliate
programs, paid placement! Part 1
By Vortex Media
Search Engines, directories, affiliate programs, paid placement!
Have you ever wondered where the value is for you?
Vortex
Media recently conducted an exclusive interview with Mr John Cussen, Director, Small Business Services for LookSmart
International Pty Ltd. Johns’ thoughtful concise answers without all
the fluff normally encountered when it comes to search engines and
directories is greatly appreciated and we thank him for his time.
Vortex Media: How long has LookSmart been in existence?
John Cussen: LookSmart was founded in 1995 in Melbourne, Australia.
We now have offices in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, London,
Tokyo, Montreal, and of course, Melbourne and Sydney. LookSmart’s
Australian operations are locally managed from the Sydney and
Melbourne offices.
Vortex Media: What are the differences between a search engine and a
directory?
John Cussen: These days the distinction is pretty blurred. Most
major search services use a directory as a key element of their core
search product. In the Australian market, ninemsn, OptusNet,
GOeureka, Web Wombat, Yahoo and even Google employ directory as a
key component of their core search results.
For example, ninemsn use the LookSmart directory as the search index
for the first “tier” of core search results. That is, the search
engine looks for matches in the LookSmart directory first. It is
only when there are not matches in the LookSmart directory that the
search engine goes to look for sites on the rest of the web
currently supplied by Intkomi.
At LookSmart we build search solutions for our partners. One of
those solutions is a directory product, which is both searchable (in
the way I’ve just described) but can also be browsed by category.
Our partners like to use our directory for that first set of results
because every site in the LookSmart directory has been scrutinized
by our editorial team to ensure that site titles and descriptions
are in readable and meaningful English and that the keywords
associated with each record are relevant and not an attempt to SPAM
the search engine or negatively influence the relevancy of the
search results. We handle some “heavy lifting” for our search
partners and that frees them up to focus on managing other aspects
of their business.
Vortex Media: What are the benefits of listing your site with a
directory such as LookSmart.com.au over a search engine?
John Cussen: The benefits are pretty simple really. LookSmart’s
directory partners show results from the LookSmart directory before
they show results from a “crawler” based search engine like Inktomi
or FAST. So, if you have a SmartListing from LookSmart and your
competitor has listed with Inktomi, the link to your site will be
seen before your competitor’s. Nowadays that’s becoming very
important with more and more companies subscribing to search
inclusion services every day.
In addition, LookSmart has around 250,000 sites in the Australian
Directory. Most of the major search engines now have more than
1,000,000,000 documents in their index. Your chances of appearing in
the search results of a ninemsn, OptusNet, GOeureka user, are
significantly higher if you are listed with LookSmart than if you
are listed with a crawler based search engine.
However, I would strongly recommend that people seriously consider
subscribing a range of search engine listings services. The cost of
inclusion for most services represents excellent value. The
SmartListings service that we offer at LookSmart reaches many more
potential customers than the others. But I wouldn’t suggest that
we’re the only opportunity out there. We have always recommended
that people list with multiple directories and search engines, as
well as implementing a well-planned search engine optimization
effort to maximise free placement in the crawler-based search
engines.
Vortex Media: How many partners are there currently retrieving
results from the LookSmart.com.au directory?
John Cussen: Our network of partners for the SmartListings product
includes ninemsn, OptusNet, GOeureka and about 30 other sites. We
reach 65% of the Australian Internet market or about 5 million
Australian Internet users.
Vortex Media: Is this number set to expand in the near future and if
so who looks like coming on board?
John Cussen: We have regular discussions with potential new partners
and we are really focused on bringing more large search services to
the network. But we don’t have anything to announce today.
Vortex Media: The AC Neilson survey ratings for June 2002 showed
LookListings with 80% coverage of Australian Internet users and
SmartListings with 65%. Why does this variation occur since everyone
is querying the same directory?
John Cussen: LookListings are our premium search-marketing product.
LookListings place search results in the top “sponsor” positions of
search results on partner sites. The LookListings product is
currently used by a larger number of partners. Many of those
partners are new to the LookSmart network. A few of the partners
that are in the LookListings network are not yet using our
SmartListings results. Yahoo!, Ozemail and Anzwers for example.
That’s where the difference comes from.
Vortex Media: Will LookSmart.com.au ever consider including the
entire LookSmart network as part of the SmartListings?
John Cussen: From a local perspective we would obviously love to
expand the SmartListings network and provide our subscribers with
access to more Australian customers. We are always seeking to have
additional distribution partners and portals include our
SmartListings customers in their search results.
Internationally LookSmart aims to build products that meet the needs
of local markets. As a company that was founded outside Australia,
we recognize that different markets have different needs and we aim
to build products that work for both customers and strategic
partners. I think it’s unlikely that we will try to create a
one-size-fits-all product. LookSmart customers are always welcome to
buy listings products from LookSmart services in other countries. As
an example, with the exchange rate the way it is, I don’t feel
comfortable asking Australian customers to pay in US dollars for a
listing in local search results.
PART TWO has some great news for
affiliates on how to effectively list your site. John also touches
on paid placement and the US$235 million Yahoo bid on Inktomi. It is
informative and timely. In the mean time you can find out more about
LookSmart or list your site by visiting
additional info.
copyright Vortex Media 2003
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