Ask.com Upgrade Adds Structured Data

Ask.com has upgraded it search technology to include structure data according to post on the New York Times Bits Blog. Structured data is currently provided for categories including entertainment, health & nutrition, jobs and reference, with expansion into more categories this year according to Ask.com press release. The inclusion of structured data allows for information to be provided directly in the search results, for example a search for a television show displays local air times for that show. The site also attempts to parse and display answers to question asked directly on the search results page (including using user generated question-and-answer sites such as Yahoo Answers and WikiAnswers), similar to the way the original Ask.com was supposed to work. According to the Bits Blog, Ask.com CEO Jim Safka claimed that the new Ask.com “returns more relevant results for common queries than in the past” and in CNET News article Ask.com president Scott Garrell claimed that the new version is “30 percent faster” than the previous version.

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