Improvements to MSN Search
1 July 2004
Microsoft will roll out enhancements to MSN Search that represent the most significant upgrade in the engines history, the company said in a statement yesterday.
The improvements include a revamped layout to give the Web site a cleaner, simpler look and to more clearly distinguish between results generated organically by the search engine and results which appear because they are paid-for ads often called. sponsored results
Microsoft has also decided to cut the number of sponsored results and to display them in shaded boxes.
This new design increased significantly the amount of time users spent at MSN Search and the number of queries they ran, compared with the old design.
"I think the primary enhancement you'll find is in its interface, in the look and feel: a cleaner site that allows for a friendlier user experience," said Allen Weiner, a Gartner analyst told NWFusion. "You have to look at this as a multi-step process they'll go through in terms of what their plans for search. Creating a friendlier user experience is a great first step."
As part of the MSN Search revamping, Microsoft has also decided to put on hold, pending further evaluation, its paid inclusion program, in which Web site owners pay to have Microsoft include their sites in the MSN Search index.
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