Ask.com is Still Lurking About

“a distant fourth in a three company race” is hardly fair.

It may be a one company race, but the gap between Ask.com and MSN is nothing like that between any of the other players and Ask.com is losing ground to Google slower than any other search engine.

Being the company losing market share the slowest may not sound like much of an accolade, but Ask.com is closing on MSN fast and, although they are not likely to challenge Google in the next decade or so, they actually do have a pretty damned good algorithm.

Manley’s last blog post..Mini SiteLinks appear on Google results

I remember using Ask.com quite a bit but I can’t see myself ever going back unless it comes out with something pretty amazing.

Of course I would use it before MSN.

Michael’s last blog post..Swing for the fences to retain subscribers

Frank: we appreciate the attention you show Ask in this post. I wanted to point out just a few important things, to be helpful:
First, my comment about “learning to walk before we run” simply and specifically had to do with the newly announced Ask/Anchor partnership. When asked by MediaPost whether there were opportunities for expansion of the partnership, I told them that it made good business sense to “walk before we run”, as in – let’s see how things go in our business relationship, and then we’ll map-out about next steps.
Second, while you note that Ask as a ‘distant fourth’ in the search rankings, a few noteworthy thoughts: the Ask Network reaches almost 40% of online Americans; the Ask Network is the 6th largest internet property in the U.S. (ahead of iTunes and Facebook); and, last, Ask.com has the largest year-over-year growth in unique users of any U.S. search engine.
Third, with over 81 million monthly unique users worldwide, Ask is in a great position to continue to be a search force – offering a unique and differentiated search experience.
Thanks again for shining a light on the Ask business. Best, Nicholas

@Nicholas Thanks for coming by. I appreciate you adding to the conversation and simply being aware of what is being said regarding Ask.com.

While I hear all the statistics and they are impressive there is still the reality that in most conversations one hears Google and Yahoo regarding search. Live Search isn’t even used by most Microsoft employees (by their own admission) and Ask gets honorable mention at best. Is the fair? Probably not but it is a reality.

I sincerely wish you only the best because unless some real competition is given to Google the balance of power can be more troubling than comforting.

Thanks again for stating your case.

Frank Reed’s last blog post..The Intentional Twitterer

Several times recently when I was installing “Free”-ware ( more like Freeloader-Ware ), Ask.com has been installed as both an unwanted toolbar and as default search engine in my browsers without my permission. Because it does not appear as a browser option, nor does it appear in the “Add or Remove Programs list”, it was every bit as difficult to uninstall as any other virus and therefore has become software non grata. (i.e. I will NEVER again use or recommend Ask.com for anything)

As evidence of Ask’s complicity (or at least knowledge) in this scheme, they have even created a special uninstall app to help users who are infected by their malware.

Thanks, but no thanks!

Ben Franklin

Hey “Manly” ! You are absolutely correct. Indeed, Ask.com is not the only offender, but they are unique in several ways:

1) They are the subject of this post

2) All of the others you mention (at least to my recollection) have presented the option to not install them. Not so with Ask.com

3) In my experience, their hijack was by far the most pernicious and difficult to remove, and thus, they are absolutely (contrary to what you said) “The Guiltiest Party” of your list. It’s certainly within the realm of possibility that you’ve had other experiences. I’m relating mine.

While the defense of “everyone’s doing it” is used by common people, it is still not only invalid logic but an extremely unwise method to determine the morality of one’s actions.

BF