Marketing Pilgrim

ZDNet’s Donna Bogatin has an interesting interview up with Ask.com CEO, Jim Lanzone. She asks some probing questions, and Jim shares some interesting morsels.

On switching users to the new AskX environment…

The AskX website is a testing ground for what the next generation of Ask.com could be. AskX.com is the sandbox area and slowly but surely will be migrated over to everyday Ask.com users starting at some point in this quarter, but we have a lot of testing to do still. AskX is the potential future interface of Ask.com or potential future experience for Ask.com.

On exploring paid search partners outside of Google…

We control about ten percent of all search queries in the U.S. (between Ask.com and our distribution network)…We will most likely strike another deal with one of the major networks (Google is the incumbent) because our own ad system combined with an ad network will make us the most money. It is going to be a significant deal. We will be the ones with the power in the relationship because we own our traffic, ten percent of the market.

Lots of other interesting stuff in there, go take a look and then come back and let me know if you think Ask will ever become more than the “#4″ in search.

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