RE: Search400 blackmail? -- MIDRANGE-L

Blackmail?  No... it sounds like what everyone else is doing.  Even
Deja.com.  If you are searching comp.sys.ibm.as400.misc, you get AS/400
banner ads on the page.

Unless they have already sold you a contract to have your banner ads on
specific pages, then I'd say it's a new opportunity.  

One could argue, of course, that each new screen that displays search
results is a unique page, therefore they are not obligated to use your
banner on these pages if only specific pages were mentioned in the contract.

Personally, I think banner ads are a waste of time.  Second, Search400's
engine blows.  Search for one word, like IPDS, and you get hundreds of hits,
when only the first couple may relate, and the rest just happen to have
"AS/400" in them.

Save your money.  Advertise where you see the most revenue coming in from.
I would rather buy this type of banner add on Deja.com or the new newsgroup
search engine (the name slips my mind).  No one can match the info provided
at Deja or the Midrange-L archives.

Bradley V. Stone
BVS/Tools - www.bvstools.com
Netshare400 - www.netshare400.com



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tim McCarthy [mailto:TimM@softwarejungle.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 1999 2:11 PM
> To: 'MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com'
> Subject: Search400 blackmail?
> 
> 
> I'd be interested in any other software vendors opinion of this item
> received from Search400. Bear in mind that our company is a search400
> customer - we place banner ads with them. Does this not sound like a
> form of blackmail?
> 
> >Search400.com has had vendors approach us about buying 
> search keywords
> >that are their competitors' company name or product name.  Here's a
> >fictional example --  Microsoft might buy the keywords "IBM" and
> >"AS/400" so that all user searches on these terms will result in a
> >Microsoft banner above Web results relevant to IBM and AS/400. 
> 
> >This is not an uncommon occurrance on other search engines.  For
> >example, Yahoo regularly sells keyword banners associated 
> with company
> >names to either the company or their competitors.
> 
> >Before we begin to accept these orders, we want to offer you the
> >opportunity to lock up the keywords for the name of your company and
> >products.  We've developed a special vendor keyword package where you
> >can buy your company name and three of your company's 
> product names for
> >only $250 per month. This special is effective until December 31st. 
> 
> >If you're interested in taking advantage of this special offer please
> >call me or reply to this email.  We will not accept any insertion
> >orders for competitive "keyword" names until January.
>   
> 
> TrailBlazer Systems, Inc.
> http://www.as400ftp.com
> AS/400 Communications & E-Commerce Solutions
> 
> Chaos, panic, & disorder - my work here is done.
> 
> 
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