Ask Revamp ‘Could Have Large Effect on Search’

by Lucy Griffiths on 29th July 2010

Ask’s recently announced return to offering question and answer services will be watched carefully by those in the search industry.

According to Greg Sterling, a contributing editor on Search Engine Land, Ask is moving back to its origins in an attempt to differentiate itself from other search engines.

He suggested that if the Ask relaunch is a success, it could have repercussions for users of SEO services.

“If Ask can build the community effectively, the integration of Q&A directly into search could prove to be a compelling feature and generate higher engagement and perhaps new usage,” Mr Sterling stated.

He said that the challenge for Ask will be to convince people to more regularly use its services ahead of the likes of Google or Bing.

Earlier this month, Bing announced it is to establish a new visual search gallery, which will allow internet users to revisit a month’s worth of homepage images.