Ask Jeeves Web Properties, a division of Ask Jeeves Inc., plans today to introduce the DirectHit Network, which the company said allows customers to implement search technology on their Web sites and generate revenue from search results.
The DirectHit Network provides an alternative to larger ad networks and has an underlying search engine, the company said.
The DirectHit Network offers advertisers positions based on the number of clicks their links receive, according to Joshua Stylman, Ask Jeeves' vice president of syndication and partnerships.
“Our algorithm assigns scores to hits on links,” he said. “A link will move up the list if people click on it a lot.”
Ask Jeeves, Emeryville, CA, has signed Britannica.com, Snowball.com, Ask.com and DirectHit.com and also has attracted Salon.com, Gay.com and MSN as partners of the DirectHit Network, Styles said.
“DirectHit is really an editor,” he said. “It uses the entire Web. Publishers now have the ability to monetize search results.”
Stylman noted that when someone conducts a search on a Web site in the DirectHit Network, banner ads will be served based on the keywords they use. For instance, if someone searches for the keywords “credit card,” banner ads for a credit card company will be served to the results page.
“We put a premium on our sites,” he said. “We don't expect our network to be as large as some others out there. We are a more targeted network.”
