OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 6, 2008 -- Ask.com, an operating business of IAC (Nasdaq:IACI), today unveiled a new version of its site that includes significant relevance, user interface, and speed enhancements.
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"Initial feedback from customers testing the new site has been overwhelmingly positive. By listening to our customers and giving them what they want, we've already seen a 14% increase in customer satisfaction," said Jim Safka, Chief Executive Officer of Ask.com. "Ask.com is well on its way to accelerating growth with an improved product, expanded distribution, and an emotionally resonant brand."
BETTER SEARCH RELEVANCE
Through a combination of recent enhancements to its proprietary search technology, Ask.com has made significant advancements in its core relevance versus this time last year. These improvements have already demonstrated a 16% increase in customer retention.
THE BEST ANSWER, THE FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME
"On average, it takes consumers three clicks to find what they are searching for online. Ask.com's goal is to reduce this to one click of the search box," added Safka.
By going deeper into the highest-volume categories such as Entertainment, Health & Nutrition, Jobs, and Reference, Ask.com is now able to deliver more direct answers front and center on the results page, helping consumers avoid the back and forth clicking between Web pages. Ask.com will continue to go deeper into numerous categories this year.
For Entertainment-related searches like "Is COPS on TV tonight?" or "What NFL games are on TV this Sunday?" Ask.com now presents local channel and time information right on the results page. For Reference-related searches like "Can I drink milk after the expiration date?" Ask.com now pulls and instantly displays answers such as "A day or two after, yes, you'll be fine. More than that, it'll be pretty off-flavored" - real-time, real-life examples taken from user-generated and professional content sites, right on the results page.
Building on Ask3D's innovation, Ask.com has simplified its user interface and now ranks and integrates content from a broader and more comprehensive set of content types - such as breaking news, blogs, images, videos, and music - right into the center panel.
SEARCH TECHNOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE ADVANCEMENTS
Underpinning these advancements are Ask.com's innovative DADS(sm), DAFS(sm), and AnswerFarm(sm) technologies which break new ground in the areas of semantic search, web extraction and ranking. These product enhancements are the first of several new search technology innovations Ask.com will introduce in the coming months across its site. Additionally, Ask.com improved site download speeds by 30% versus this time last year, helping consumers get the best answer, faster.
About Ask.com
Ask.com is an operating business of IAC (Nasdaq:IACI). The Ask Network of sites has more than 138 million worldwide unique monthly users, according to August 2008 comScore data. Ask.com syndicates its search technology and advertising solutions to a network of affiliate partners. Combined with other Internet properties of IAC, the total unduplicated reach of the Ask.com networks among U.S. Internet users is 43% and 17% globally.