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That Ask.com still has 1%-2% of US search traffic is astounding. It must be people using browsers with the default search engine set as Ask and not knowing any

That Ask.com still has 1%-2% of US search traffic is astounding. It must be people using browsers with the default search engine set as Ask and not knowing any better.

chadgeidel 16y ago
As much as I am not a fan of Ask.com's UI (too much clutter and annoying ads) there is still quite a bit of valuable content that ranks fairly high in search results. Unfortunately I can't point to anything I searched for recently to back this assertion up.
eli 16y ago
I seem to recall they were paying software developers to bundle the Ask Toolbar long before Google started doing it.
flatline 16y ago
I had my dad start using Ask Jeeves some time back in the 90's. Altavista had gone south and the online search space was very fluid, I thought that Ask was pretty decent, and Jeeves was kind of cool back then. I was surprised when visiting him a few months back to see the site come up as his home page, he said it always did what he wanted so he never changed.
- percept 16y ago
  They say Google isn't "sticky" but that's a good counter-example (albeit a small sample size).
  - brk 16y ago
    How is that a counter-example? It sounds like his dad never tried Google, thus there was nothing to "stick". I think the lesson here is that while the search engine switching cost is $0, people are creatures of habit and may continue using something long past its expiration date if it is returning expected results. What we see from this case is also why IE has such a huge market share. Less computer literate people will start using whatever some more experienced entity tells them to, and will keep using it until/unless they are forcibly switched to a new platform.
    - derefr 16y ago
      They say "Google isn't sticky" because they think that search engines aren't sticky (they just happen to be doing the analysis relative to Google); flatline's father "sticking" with Ask is a counterexample of a search engine being sticky.
    - gojomo 16y ago
      GP post was using 'Google' to mean 'search', as in 'search isn't sticky'. But if someone has stuck with Ask for a decade out of habit -- that's a small example otherwise.
oziumjinx 16y ago
IAC still distributes the Ask.com toolbar which is installed on close to 100 million computers. "The search business grew 20 percent, goosed primarily by a 55 percent increase in active toolbars to 97 million. IAC’s toolbar business is its secret distribution weapon" http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/27/iac-third-quarter-25-percent/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/27/iac-third-quarter-25-percen... They get a ton of distribution from software installers that ask if you want to install other stuff during the installation process.

That Ask.com still has 1%-2% of US search traffic is astounding. It must be people using browsers with the default search engine set as Ask and not knowing any better.

chadgeidel 16y ago

As much as I am not a fan of Ask.com's UI (too much clutter and annoying ads) there is still quite a bit of valuable content that ranks fairly high in search results. Unfortunately I can't point to anything I searched for recently to back this assertion up.

eli 16y ago

I seem to recall they were paying software developers to bundle the Ask Toolbar long before Google started doing it.

flatline 16y ago

I had my dad start using Ask Jeeves some time back in the 90's. Altavista had gone south and the online search space was very fluid, I thought that Ask was pretty decent, and Jeeves was kind of cool back then. I was surprised when visiting him a few months back to see the site come up as his home page, he said it always did what he wanted so he never changed.

percept 16y ago
They say Google isn't "sticky" but that's a good counter-example (albeit a small sample size).
- brk 16y ago
  How is that a counter-example? It sounds like his dad never tried Google, thus there was nothing to "stick". I think the lesson here is that while the search engine switching cost is $0, people are creatures of habit and may continue using something long past its expiration date if it is returning expected results. What we see from this case is also why IE has such a huge market share. Less computer literate people will start using whatever some more experienced entity tells them to, and will keep using it until/unless they are forcibly switched to a new platform.
  - derefr 16y ago
    They say "Google isn't sticky" because they think that search engines aren't sticky (they just happen to be doing the analysis relative to Google); flatline's father "sticking" with Ask is a counterexample of a search engine being sticky.
  - gojomo 16y ago
    GP post was using 'Google' to mean 'search', as in 'search isn't sticky'. But if someone has stuck with Ask for a decade out of habit -- that's a small example otherwise.

oziumjinx 16y ago

IAC still distributes the Ask.com toolbar which is installed on close to 100 million computers. "The search business grew 20 percent, goosed primarily by a 55 percent increase in active toolbars to 97 million. IAC’s toolbar business is its secret distribution weapon" http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/27/iac-third-quarter-25-percent/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/27/iac-third-quarter-25-percen... They get a ton of distribution from software installers that ask if you want to install other stuff during the installation process.