Update on search, sponsored search and click fraud

Recent developments around search technology help explain why results continue to diverge:

• Google triples its database, but stops reporting the number of web pages included on its site.
• The quality of the MSN search engine (introduced in February and upgraded in July) is disputed. As reported by comScore, MSN lost market share from January to July. A possible merger of MSN and AOL makes lots of sense.
• Yahoo! introduced Instant Search (get suggestions while typing in the search box).
• Google introduced Blog Search.
• Truveo introduced Video Search (based on 'visual analysis')
• Intellext introduces its Watson 2.0 sidebar for desktop + web search, based on artificial intelligence.
• eBay partner SquareTrade launched a Sidebar for comparison shopping, expanded with fraud-detection and anti-phishing.

Recent monetisation efforts, i.e. sponsored search developments, ride the wave of growing online ads markets (US: +26% so far this year). Sponsored search represents a growing slice of this.

• MSN introduced adCenter out of beta in France and Singapore. Beta launch next month in the US. The product will gradually replace Yahoo! service, so MSN will no longer have to share revenues from sponsored search.
• Pay-per-call expands the market to small companies without a web site.
• Google experiments with offline placements. Offline adds obviously do not carry links to web sites, but phone numbers instead: pay-per-call again!

Click fraud is the inevitable side effect of this monetisation effort. But there is some good news:

• Search for It, a Canadian search engine, developed 'Fraud Print', which they say will allow users to determine the probability that a click is legitimate and enhance RoI.
• Earlier on, iSearchNaked introduced a flat fee model to ban click fraud.
• And before that, Zunch announced 'Click Fraud Detective'.