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12.13.06
Looking Around AskCity
 By Chris Richardson
If you took a walk around AskCity, what would you expect to find? What have other people been looking for while they were here? Thanks to Ask.com blog, we now know the answers to these questions.
AskCity is Ask.com's recently launched map service and according to their blog, the service has been really well received. They have also had enough queries since the launch to post lists of what's being searched on a frequent basis.
Before they got into their lists, Ask.com acknowledged AskCity's favorable press while taking a jab at Robert Scoble - "We've seen hundreds of news items and blog headlines about the product, and the positive ones outweigh the negatives at a rate of about 100 to Scoble." - which is a response to a Scoble post discussing Ask's new map service. Robert wasn't impressed by the fact AskCity couldn't find Amsterdam.
After tooling around for a few minutes, I can see why Robert was frustrated. AskCity's search isn't as intuitive as you would like. I too searched Amsterdam and was given the result to Amsterdam, NY. When I searched the Netherlands, I was returned the result for Netherlands, MO. Both results are legitimate. However, it shouldn't be difficult to toggle between a local business search and a global search, especially if you offer users a world map to pick from, but I digress.
As indicated, Ask's post revealed what people are searching for, which is broken down into three categories - dining search, which artists are being queried in the Event Search, and what services people are looking for:
Top 10 Dining Choices in Business Search:
1. Pizza
2. Italian
3. Traditional American
4. Sushi
5. Coffee
6. Chinese
7. Starbucks
8. Fast food
9. Deli
10. Mexican
Top 10 Artists in Event Search:
1. Madonna
2. U2
3. Rolling Stones
4. Dave Matthews
5. The Who
6. Rod Stewart
7. Justin Timberlake
8. Incubus
9. Dixie Chicks
10. Damien Rice
Top 10 Services in Business Search:
1. Massage
2. Shopping mall
3. Hospitals
4. Family doctor
5. Churches
6. Plumber
7. Florist
8. Police department
9. General practice attorneys
10. Auto repair
As you can see, this is fairly standard stuff; although, the Event Search is pretty unique. Having the ability to see who is touring in your area is a nice feature. However, I'm wondering how Madonna topped Ask's Event Search list, much like Britney did with regular web search. Are people still that interested in seeing the Material Girl live?
About the Author:
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest search news.
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