#RSS Log in | Sign up Why join? [login-x.gif] ____________________ _______________ button [_] Remember me | Forgot password? Welcome (log out) View profile CNET.com [hd-site-3.gif] Search: ____________________ [News....] Go! [search_go_off.gif]-Submit Advanced search Today on CNET Reviews News Downloads Tips & Tricks CNET TV Compare Prices Today on News| Business Tech| Cutting Edge| Access| Threats| Media 2.0| Markets| Digital Life| Blogs| Extra| My News Barry Diller helps Ask Jeeves get in shape Newer, leaner butler is cutting back on sponsored results and focusing on its core search business, Ask Jeeves CEO says. By Elinor Mills Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: August 9, 2005, 1:01 PM PDT Last modified: August 10, 2005, 3:47 PM PDT Tell us what you think about this story TalkBack E-mail this story to a friend E-mail View this story formatted for printing Print Add to your del.icio.us del.icio.us Digg this story Digg this update SAN JOSE, Calif.--Now that it's part of media mogul Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp, the Ask Jeeves butler is shaping up, cutting back on sponsored results that bloated its site and increasing more relevant links, according to the search engine's CEO. With IAC's deep pockets, Ask Jeeves can reduce its reliance on ad-based revenue and focus on investing in its core search business, Ask Jeeves CEO Steve Berkowitz said Tuesday in a keynote speech here at the Search Engine Strategies conference. "The butler is safe. He's trimmer, but safe for the moment," he said of the dapper logo based on English author P.G. Wodehouse's valet character. The newer Jeeves has lost his butler suit and some of his paunch on his namesake search Web site. IAC announced a $1.85 billion buyout of Ask Jeeves in March, adding it to its more than 40 properties, which include TicketMaster, Expedia, CitySearch, LendingTree.com and Hotels.com. The acquisition frees Ask Jeeves to concentrate on building up its search site to attract more users over the long run instead of having to increase profit in the short run, Berkowitz said. Going forward, Ask Jeeves will have "a single focus: how do we grow market share?" he said. He predicted the company would grow from about 6 percent market share today to a double-digit percentage next year. "I don't need to be No. 1," Berkowitz said in an interview after the keynote speech. "Now I don't have to focus on every single quarter; I can focus on the long-term." The company, ranked No. 4 or No. 5 behind Google, Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and sometimes America Online, will invest heavily in marketing, building up its brand and new product development--and it won't hesitate to hire to do that, Berkowitz said. Ask Jeeves, which could be truncated to just "Ask," will integrate its search box across all IAC Web sites and will work more directly with advertisers, he said. Earlier this month, Ask Jeeves launched its own automated ad program similar to services used by Google and Yahoo. Ask Jeeves also has partnered with Google in a deal that lasts through 2007, and previously got about 70 percent of its revenue from its advertising relationship with Google. In other news: * iPod turns 5: The little device that could * Up, up and away at the X Prize Cup * Roomba rival looks to clean up * News.com Extra: NFL dirty-bomb threat post a hoax--FBI * Video: Security Bites: Microsoft's most secure Web browser In addition, Ask Jeeves, which now operates in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Spain, will expand its brand globally later this year and next year, Berkowitz said. In an attempt to differentiate its search results, the company earlier this year added new features that allow users to zoom in or out on narrower or broader results, search for related concepts and scour unstructured data on the Web for better answers to direct questions such as "who invented bubble gum?" For Jim Lanzone, senior vice president of search properties at Ask Jeeves, the IAC merger means more resources to further improve the search experience and increase user loyalty. "We've had a great vision of what a search engine should be...but we haven't had the manpower of Yahoo or Google," he said. "We are about to flap our wings. They were clipped a little bit, and that was frustrating." Tell us what you think about this story TalkBack E-mail this story to a friend E-mail View this story formatted for printing Print Add to your del.icio.us del.icio.us Digg this story Digg this Read more on this story's topics and companies * Add to My News | Create an alert Search * Add to My News | Create an alert Advertising * Interactivecorp * Add to My News | Create an alert Google * Add to My News | Create an alert Yahoo! Inc 5 comments Post a comment TalkBack Find a lot of new engines here! anthonycea Aug 9, 2005, 6:53 PM PDT Who honestly uses Ask Jeeves? Nazz Deq Aug 9, 2005, 1:16 PM PDT Nothing but ads on Ask Jeeves bobby_brady Aug 9, 2005, 1:13 PM PDT Read more comments > advertisement IFRAME: http://altfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/fm/42897?mpt=2006.10.21.01.17.06&mpvc= Click this Mojo Ad advertisement IFRAME: http://altfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/fm/46289?mpt=2006.10.21.01.17.06&mpvc=http%253a%252f%252fadlog.com.com%252fadlog%252fe%252fr%253d6467%2526s%253d684371%2526t%253d%2526o%253d1023:1038:%2526h%253dcn%2526p%253d2%2526b%253d5%2526l%253den_US%2526site%253d3%2526pt%253d2100%2526nd%253d1038%2526pid%253d%2526cid%253d5825528%2526pp%253d100%2526e%253d3%2526rqid%253d%2526event%253d58%252f Click this Mojo Ad Related stories Related news * Ask Jeeves' new features zoom in, out May 25, 2005 * InterActiveCorp buys Ask Jeeves for $1.85 billion March 21, 2005 * Ask Jeeves buys Bloglines February 8, 2005 Get this story's "Big Picture" > Related videos Latest version of Mozilla's browser Latest version of Mozilla's browser September 26, 2006 AOL under the magnifying glass AOL under the magnifying glass August 11, 2006 Browster and Cooliris make you a more effective Web surfer Browster and Cooliris make you a more effective Web surfer August 10, 2006 Watch more videos > From News.com Extra * New Ask Jeeves Sponsored Listings Program Lets More Advertisers Buy Direct from Search Engine Watch * Ask Jeeves Launches Advertising Network (AP) from Yahoo! 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