6 October 2008
Ask has relaunched its homepage in a bid to boost the number of people using it. The makeover is the search engine’s second since dropping its iconic butler at the beginning of 2006.
Ask will be refocusing on its ability to act as the search engine of choice for those asking questions. Research has shown that Ask is more often used by people searching for specific answers to questions. While such questions account for about 5% of queries to Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Live Search, it accounts for 15% of Ask's searches. The re-designed site will be faster, produce more relevant search results and improved search technology.
The move comes as rivals are increasingly looking at ways to set themselves apart from Google in the competitive world of search. However, Cesar Mascaraque, European managing director of Ask admitted it borrowed design ideas from Google. He also stated that Ask is chasing a very specific customer - 35 to 55-year-olds – saying:
The 20 year-old is never going to use us and, you know what, I don't care.
Last year’s TV campaign, portraying Ask as an underground alternative to Google, was not as successful as it hoped. Ask acknowledge this and insist it will now be focusing on the tricky questions to which people want answers.
The site goes live in the US from 6 October and in the UK from 20 October.
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