Search Engines Rethink Paid Inclusion

KingFishKingFish
edited June 2004 in Science & Tech
Search engines are rethinking a controversial practice of allowing marketers to buy their way into free Web search listings, or programs known as paid inclusion.
Ask Jeeves, one of the largest Web search properties, said Wednesday it will phase out its paid-inclusion program altogether in the coming months after having trimmed it in February. The newly terminated service, called Site Submit, allows marketers to pay an annual fee of $30 to submit a Web address into its search engine. Industry leader Yahoo is also considering nixing certain fees for commercial Web sites that seek to ensure exposure in the site's free search results, according to several sources close to the company. Yahoo launched a service in early March that offers marketers swifter inclusion in its search index with both an annual flat fee for site review and a "per click" rate each time a visitor clicks on their listing in results.
I can personally attest that the costs are prohibitive for small businesses on the web. -KF

Source: ZDNet

Comments

  • pseudonympseudonym Michigan Icrontian
    edited June 2004
    Yeah. I agree that it can't help the small business. Sounds like a good plan to kill it.
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