Ask Jeeves Stopping Paid Search Inclusions

Years ago, when they first started up, I used to do volunteer testing for Ask Jeeves and was a true fan of their service. However, I got quite tired of weeding through the output of search queries because of the paid inclusions and quit. One look at almost any query return was enough to convince me they weren't "kosher".

Now, in a move I find startling and probably courageous, Ask Jeeves is stopping paid inclusions in search results. "We're never going to mix church and state again," said an Ask Jeeves spokesman. The company has found that paid inclusions to search results "negatively affect the search experience", which I personally would characterize as understatement of the first water.

News stories announcing this change in policy paint it as a move to distance the Ask Jeeves services from those of rival Yahoo. As I could care less about the rivalry between search engines and only want decent searches when I ask for them, I prefer to see this as a pro-consumer move and to hell with the "true" motive.

I intend to give Ask Jeeves a bit of time to implement the change, then go back there and try what was once my primary means of searching again.

Jack