Thrill of hunt lures Google competitors
By Jefferson Graham
USA TODAY
Mon May 13, 6:38 AM ET
Even as Google (news - external web site) keeps growing, competitors are taking aim at the Internet's top search service.
America Online recently signed a contract for Google to provide search results to its members, starting this summer -- which could add 34 million to the legions worldwide who already make Google.com their first stop when searching for information among the Web's billions of pages or looking for bulletin-board posts on specific topics among Usenet's thousands of newsgroups.
But a recent wave of competitors has surfaced to try to provide alternatives to one of the Web's biggest success stories.
''There's lots of room for others,'' insists Paul Gardi of competitor Ask.com, which owns Ask Jeeves and Direct Hit and recently launched Teoma. ''You may love Coca-Cola, but you wouldn't want to drink it at every meal.''
Google, founded in 1998, has come to redefine -- and to dominate -- searching for data on the Net. Its results are widely considered superior and more relevant than those from older competitors. Google usage has grown 54% over the past six months. It's No. 6 on Jupiter Media Metrix's monthly rankings, reaching 33 million users in March -- more than other top sites such as eBay and Amazon.
A new study from Onestat.com finds nearly half of all searches globally go through Google; second-place Yahoo (which actually licenses Google to provide its Web searches) draws about one in five.
Google's results are based in part on popularity: Those sites that are linked to most often from other Web pages, and those that get the most hits, tend to rise to the top of the search rankings. New competitors build upon and refine that concept:
* Teoma (Gaelic for ''expert'') also offers input from specialized sites created by experts. A search for ''June weddings'' on Teoma displayed results for planner associations and advice sites with FAQs on the ins and outs of the ceremony.
* Wisenut, owned by LookSmart (which also supplies search technology to MSN), helps users with multiple ways to reword their searches to come up with better results. A query on ''roller-blading'' brings up links to sites for equipment makers, articles and books on the sport, and also suggests refinements such as ''skate blading,'' ''inline skating'' and ''roller blades.''
* Alltheweb.com, owned by the Norwegian firm Fast Search and Transfer, tries to out-Google Google by offering specific search engines for MP3s, video and photographs on its little-advertised ''technology showcase'' site. Like Wisenut, it offers category refinements to make the search easier.
''The last thing anyone wants is for the only search player to be Google,'' says Danny Sullivan, the editor of Search Engine Watch, an online newsletter. ''Having competition makes them better.''
Google's response to the new entries: Bring them on. ''We're glad to have companies focusing on Web search, and we hope it will raise general awareness about the value of search engines,'' says Google's Craig Silverstein. ''When we started, not all companies were focused on that.''
Google recently unveiled two new services. For really tough questions, Google now offers answers from experts for a fee, starting at $5. It also added a free news search tool to its engine, allowing users to go beyond Web pages and discussion groups with real-time indexing of newspaper and magazine articles.
Yahoo offers a similar service, but only as part of its directory, which points to a specific group of newspapers. A recent search for Bill Clinton on news.yahoo .com retrieved topical articles from the Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times, USA TODAY and the Arizona Republic. The reach at news.google.com went much wider, with papers from Iran, the United Kingdom, Singapore, North Carolina, Seattle and Miami, plus CNN, Reuters and E!
''We are always considering new services,'' Silverstein says. ''Our goal is to find all the world's information and get it to people. A news service is one part of that.''
While Google has attracted millions of users, the search engine reaping the most profit these days is Overture (formerly Goto.com), one of the few publicly traded dot-coms to post positive financial results. Last year it made $20 million on $288 million in revenues.
Most users probably haven't heard of Overture, but they come across it all the time, thanks to the behind-the-scenes partnerships common in the search industry.
Overture offers advertisers paid placement on Web sites. While you won't see a ''Brought to you by Overture'' blurb, its results are seen at the top of searches performed at America Online (where it will soon be replaced by Google), MSN, Yahoo and AltaVista, among others. For example, a search for ''Mother's Day'' on Yahoo puts ''sponsor matches'' first, then offers to buy flowers and gifts, followed by editorial links about the history of the day and famous moms.
''We're like search meets the Yellow Pages,'' says Overture's Harry Chandler. ''If someone is looking for information, the fact that an advertiser is paying is irrelevant.''
Of the top search firms, the only one that doesn't have a deal with Overture is Google, which has its own paid listings program. Overture has filed a patent infringement suit, claiming Google is stealing its pay-for-placement technology. Google denies it; Overture won't discuss the suit.
Besides text-based ads and sponsored listings, Google makes money by licensing technology to other sites (searches on washingtonpost.com are provided by Google, for example). Its contract with Yahoo is up next month, and Yahoo hasn't said how it plans to proceed.
Google rivals are already lining up to challenge Google's Yahoo deal. Fast is already making its pitch: ''You better believe it,'' says Fast's Stephen Baker.
Fast powers Lycos, but doesn't advertise its own alltheweb.com, despite its growing reputation, because ''that would put us in conflict with our customers,'' Baker says. ''If I'm Yahoo, I want people searching at my site, not at Google.''
Sullivan calls Fast technology the up-and-comer, ''No. 2 to Google, in terms of relevancy (of results).'' But he doesn't believe Google can be toppled soon. ''The real fight will be who can be No. 2. There's a lot of duking it out to be had.''
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