WiderSearch.com MetaSearch Engine Announces Integration of Pay-Per-Click Features and Ties to Local Search Engine SearchNear.com

    /24-7PressRelease.com/ - December 16, 2004. Rather than build an index of the entire Internet from the ground up, metasearch sites like WiderSearch.com create an umbrella of results from a number of different search engines. WiderSearch.com accomplishes its metasearch tasks using a proprietary search methodology that examines the relevance assigned to an individual listing result by different search engines and creates a consolidated view of the results, reordered based on WiderSearch's refined relevance algorithm. WiderSearch competes with other metasearch sites such as Mamma.com, CNET's Search.com and Vivisimo's Clusty.

"Our search methodology and display rules allow us to dynamically generate an enhanced, consolidated view of what leading search engines deem to be relevant right now, in real time", said Jeff Tadie, President of InternetTrails, the company that started WiderSearch.com and recently released a beta version of SearchNear.com, a new local search engine.

"We made a decision to serve today's mass market in search. The vast majority of users conduct simple searches without a location parameter or specialized search query. However, they often become frustrated by results that are not trustworthy, accurate or complete. WiderSearch tries to smooth the rough edges of traditional search and deliver better, more relevant results."

"It's important to reach the point of being 'trusted, accurate and complete', with respect to the dataset. No one is there yet, and we feel enhancing a selected group of content indices built by the bigger search engines is better than any one individual index."

WiderSearch displays up to five performance-based sponsored links above the consolidated search results. Website owners and businesses can self-publish their own sponsored listings by placing bids as low as 5 cents per click. Advertiser pay-per-click accounts require just $25 on deposit with payments made through PayPal, Ebay's payment processing company.

In addition to metasearch, ‘local search’ presents another opportunity to improve the search experience. To satisfy this emerging market, InternetTrails has launched SearchNear.com (in BETA), a pure local search engine. Rather than having to bolt a local aspect on to a huge and unwieldy content index, SearchNear.com is building a 'local content index' from the ground up, and from the first record in the database. The BETA site has thousands of records in the local content index right now, heavily emphasizing local product and service providers. Merchants and website owners can freely add their listings and are encouraged to provide many data points about their business. Tadie added, ”We see every merchant and website owner as a publisher, and we give them tools to publish content right now, from any web browser. We want them found by SearchNear users and publishing their fresh, updated content is the entry price we have set."

Merchants and website owners who self-publish their business listing on SearchNear.com can return periodically to revise their SearchNear profile, or add another site or business to the search index. The SearchNear dataset will be published in a number of search and directory properties, including WiderSearch.com, to maximize the exposure for the merchants and website owners. SearchNear.com is also establishing sales channel relationships to sell premium ad placements to local, regional and national advertisers and expects to announce several specific relationships in early 2005.

InternetTrails is a small private company based in northern VA. Its team has heavy experience in search and directory services at leading Internet and technology companies. Tadie concluded, "Our team gives us a big edge. We continue to add to the technical side and have the firepower needed to contend well in the local search category. The opportunity to shape local search and lead in this space is very tangible to us."

Widersearch.com and SearchNear.com are two of the search engines developed by Stryve, a development company designing Internet search & directory properties for commercial and government applications.

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