IAC Dances Fine Line Between AskCity and CitySearch

Authored by Peter Krasilovsky on December 6, 2006 - 10:45am.

IAC’s Ask.com rolled out AskCity this week in a bid to use IAC’s content to differentiate itself from Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL. The site, which succeeds AskLocal, proves to be an excellent local research tool and effectively integrates listings, reviews and other content from IAC sites such as CitySearch and evite, as well as non-IAC sites (It is a little weird, however, that AskCity is not the URL, but rather a sub-site within Ask).

Remarking on the launch, Ask CEO Jim Lanzone, in an interview with Om Malik, noted that “local is very important in search. It’s a top five category for us” represents 10 percent of all Ask searches. With the addition of IAC’s proprietary content, Ask can really present a human element that competitors like MSN and Yahoo aren’t doing. “Our research showed that they rely too much on maps and gimmicks like fly-overs, have limited content, require too many steps to transact, and have a lack of coherence between various the local products they’ve all created,” he said.

Still, AskCity’s launch raises a series of logical questions. Won’t the launch of AskCity cause significant cannibalization from CitySearch? Isn’t it time to rollup CitySearch? While one is a “search engine” and the other a “destination,” isn’t that becoming a fine line, circa late 2006?

The answer is “no” on all of the above, per Scott Morrow, CitySearch’s Exec VP of Product and Marketing. Morrow noted that the origins of both sites “are just different. CitySearch is a media and publishing creation. It is a leading directory and content company in local. And it leverages the SEO value of the content.”

Unlike Ask, which ultimately remains a search engine, CitySearch is all about “exploration and decision support,” said Morrow. “We do have a search functionality, but it is not core to what we do,” he said. Just this year, in fact, CitySearch outsourced its search functionality to FAST Search and Technology.

The proof that IAC has long-term plans for CitySearch would be the launch of a major marketing plan. It has been years since CitySearch spent significant money on marketing. Morrow says it is coming – although don’t expect to see any SuperBowl ads. “We are gearing up for a massive consumer launch with a focused, targeted marketing campaign,” he said.

In the meantime, he says that AskCity should be seen as symbiotic with CitySearch. “It provides more exposure and leads to advertisers we are signing up,” said Morrow.

I like what Morrow has to say. And really, it wouldn’t make any sense for CitySearch to throw in the towel at this point, given Ask’s experimental status, and CitySearch’s extensive relationships with Ask competitors, including a local “powered by” relationship with MSN, a lesser, “non-powering” tie with Yahoo, and informal ties with Google.

CitySearch also has a developing local sales operation under the direction of Neil Salvage. It also features IYP, a user-generated content platform, and an editorial staff.

For sure, all this could be re-orged. And certainly, one imagines that IAC head Barry Diller has decided that Ask’s potential is many, many times larger than CitySearch’s. But for now, IAC is apparently intent on synergistically developing the two sites.

Peter Krasilovsky

Note: This article originally appeared on Peter Krasilovsky's blog, Local Onliner. His bio can be viewed here. Additional comments on this post can be viewed here.

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Comments

more “local” information when describing images

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on December 29, 2006 - 12:47pm.

"Intuitive search for finding neighborhood businesses" - sounds like fun! I am using ask.com occasionally, but AskCity can change my habits.
http://www.featurepics.com/Editorial/ask.aspx -- it is what Ask.com is asking, and what FeaturePics Authors are answering.
"local is very important in search" – photographers need to provide more “local” information when describing images.