Ask.com has launched a new service for its users in a bid to attract more visitors to the search engine. The website has undergone a complete revamp of sorts with more focus now given on a number of other sources, including images and videos, other than displaying just text links.
Ask.com is following the steps taken by Google early this month by combining different search results into a single search page. Users can also "fine tune" their search terms in order to find the exact information they need. The homepage of Ask.com too has been revamped and the cluttered layout of different search categories has been replaced by a single slot for users to type in their search term.
The results page is divided into three columns, the first column contains suggestions by the search engine to narrow down the search results, the central column will feature the search results, while the third column will provide links to various results from other sources such as images, videos and blogs.
Ask.com officials believe that by this feature, users will be able to avoid the "hunt and peck" search practice. They also pointed out to a research, which revealed that on an average, users will have to try searching for an item four times before getting the required results. Users can also change the look of the website's home page by selecting their favorite skins from the drop down menu provided below the search tool.
Analysts believe that Ask.com, currently the fourth popular search engine behind Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, is trying to make a last desperate attempt to pull visitors to its website. Says search analyst John Battelle, "This is Ask, a perennial 4th place player in an increasingly one player market, doing what only a 4th place player can do: Throwing caution to the wind."
