In the department of “Where are they now?” Lycos has reared its head to announce that they have selected AskJeeves to supply them with search technology, replacing the Yahoo Inktomi technology they are currently using. Lycos, which was once one of the big powerhouse search engines, has in recent years been but a blip on the SE radar screen.
AskJeeves also serves up search technology to other online properties such as InfoSpace, BellSouth, Mamma.com and CNET Networks. Shares of AskJeeves rose 2-percent on the news of the Lycos deal.
Lycos is also heavily promoting its Lycos Dating Search which they hope will be a Next Big Thing in search given the popularity of dating sites within the last couple of years. With the dating search one can search many different dating sits simultaneously by geographic location.
The current Lycos search is very sub-par in my opinion. By performing a search for my favorite keyword-phrase “funny t-shirts” the results returned include sponsored links, 11 of them, that come up first, then 10 organic listings and 1 sponsored link at the bottom of the organic listings for good measure. This high percentage of PPC advertising and the placement of those ads, makes Lycos search very irrelevant at least for the searches I conduct.
Hopefully, by switching to AskJeeves, and reorganizing their results pages, Lycos can bring relevance back to their SERP’s, putting their customers first and advertisers second. Putting the customer first – what a concept. It may just work for Lycos if they choose to go down that road.
