12 October 2006 | Author: R. Green

Ask.com to supply mobile search to cell phones

2006 has been a busy year for mobile phone search technology advances. First, we saw the introduction of Yahoo! Go Mobile; then Google added a host of new mobile services (including downloadable Google Maps); and MSN has recently announced that it is planning to place clickable ads on the Windows Live Search for Mobile service. As of this Thursday, Ask.com has decided to enter into the battle for a share of the high level of traffic that can be gained from English language mobile web search services, with a new service designed specifically for cell phones and handheld devices.

The new Ask Mobile Search service provides direct quick access to internet search functions, travel directions, maps, weather information, graphics blogs, business listings, currency converters and horoscopes, as well as phone area code listings. At the moment, however, most of these services currently appear to be primarily directed towards the US domestic market, and there is at present little support for UK listings.

The new Ask Mobile service utilises a technology called Skweezer which is designed to crunch web pages into a smaller format that can be quickly downloaded and more easily delivered in a design that can be viewed on the small display units used in mobile phones and other handheld devices.

For the past year, major search engines have gone to great lengths to try to win a piece of the rapidly evolving mobile market, along with the potentially lucrative new advertising opportunities that are emerging. While Ask's service is to be free of advertising, it is likely to only be a matter of time before paid listing advertisements' start to appear, matching up with the older Ask mobile service presented in Japan, and the current offerings from the other major search providers. Search engines have been investing heavily in this field, anticipating unprecedented market growth, which they hope will lead to the opening up of massive revenue channels to the company most able to seize the initiative and deliver a product which meets the needs of both users and online advertisers.

Following Yahoo!, who announced at the beginning of October that it was also looking to add click-to-call advertisements to its mobile search functions in the US and UK, MSN announced its new direction on Monday. MSN also plan to utilise click-to-call advertisements enabling users to simply click on ads in order to place an automatic call for more information. The click-to-call format should prove an effective marketing tool, as they provide extremely useful functionality to users over and above the service of most organic search results, by putting the user into direct contact with the advertiser. For example, users who want to search for pizza outlets in their area will be able to search for this service on their mobile, and then be presented with addresses, maps and directions on how to locate the pizza outlets closest to them.

These adverts are to be run in a similar style to existing online paid advertising, with companies competing for increased keyword positioning through online auctions, and the advertiser only being charged when users click on their adverts. MSN has also stated that these click-to-call advertising links are to be positioned above the regular search results when mobile phone users perform their search with Windows Live Search. This new positioning is liable to make a big impact, as many users are likely, due to the small screen format, to simply click on the first set of advertising results displayed, rather than making the effort to scroll past them to access the organic search results.

Mobile search is a rapidly developing market, with big names like Yahoo! and Google announcing the launch of new services with increasingly regularity; and with heavyweight players fighting for a share of advertising revenue, rapid developments are likely to appear in the new future.

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