IAC, the parent of Ask.com, the Daily Beast and Citysearch, today announced it has amended and extended its distribution agreement with Google through March 31, 2016. The deal, which involves the distribution of AdWords ads and other search-related services to IAC sites, was originally scheduled to expire at the end of 2012. Though IAC didn't get into specific details about what terms changed, the company says the new agreement is "comparable" to the previous agreement, when taken as a whole. Back in November, Ask.com gave up web search to concentrate on Q&A search, and was said to be [...]

Related Topics: Ask: Sponsored Listings | Ask: Web Search | Google: AdWords

I reported at the Search Engine Roundtable that Ask Sponsored Listings has changed how they handle sending referrer data to webmasters. From now on, they are basically not sharing the page of origin with the webmaster. Why? Ask said they have moved to a new system named PureLeads. What is Pureleads? The FAQ explains: Pureleads is our new proprietary technology that blends advanced click purification methods and automated campaign traffic management. The Pureleads system protects your campaign from unpredictable delivery spikes, automated click traffic and suspect traffic sources. The [...]

Related Topics: Ask: Sponsored Listings

I said from time to time, I'd highlight some bad search results I come across. Here's a killer -- a top ranking for us national anthem on Google that when you click on it brings up random web sites that have nothing to do with the song. Behind the scenes, there's an Ask.com connection. Let's dive in. Here's the listing: For those who can't view images, I'm pointing at the fifth listing, which says: gbjann.com Get an auto loan that's right for you. Compare auto loan rates of top lenders. ... Loan type : Sort by : State : City : New auto, 48 mo. New auto, 60 mo. ... gbjann.com/anthe [...]

Related Topics: Ask: General | Ask: Sponsored Listings | Features: Analysis | Google: Web Search | Stats: Relevancy | Top News

I was messing around with the Ask.com interface on my Mac and decided to compare some results between my Mac browser and Internet Explorer for PC. I noticed that Ask.com is now displaying five sponsored results for many keyword searches. The organic results are now below the fold, like they once were before dropping Jeeves. One of many searches where you can find five sponsored results at the top of the Ask.com results is for mp3 players. Here is the result in IE for PCs: But when you search in Safari or Firefox, you only get three ads at the top: This is a huge shame. It was one o [...]

Related Topics: Ask: Sponsored Listings | Ask: Web Search

Scott Hendison received an email about a click fraud settlement by Ask Sponsored Listings. If you purchased online advertising from IAC Search & Media and/or ASK Jeeves from August 2005 to now, you are entitled to some form of reimbursement for click fraud or other invalid or improper clicks. The details can be found at AskSettlement.com, which contains a PDF of the settlement notice, the online claim form, a method to contact someone, and frequently asked questions. There is a fund of $820,000. Of that, $258,333 will go to the lawyers and the rest will be given to those who qualify for th [...]

Related Topics: Ask: Sponsored Listings | Legal: Clickfraud