IAC Chief Executive (Ask.com) Barry Diller said today that the company’s Internet search service could possibly grow its market share to 8 to 10 percent. Currently, Ask.com’s share is around 2 percent.Addressing a New York Goldman Sachs investor conference, Diller stated, “I think the share we can get in pure search over time … is 8 to 10 percent. Little by little in this huge market of queries … we are making progress.”
He also commented that there was still room in the search market business, despite the fact that Google continues to dominate.
“I have never thought that success goes to the entrenched,” he said. “I’ve never thought you couldn’t compete.”
Currently, the most popular form of online advertising is the “Pay-Per-Click” model, which charges the advertiser each time a user clicks on an ad. However, this model has not been without its problems. Both Google and Yahoo have had to deal with fraudulant click accusations and have had to reach settlements with advertisers.
In response, the online advertising market appears to be slowly moving toward a “Pay-Per-Action” model, where an advertiser only pays for the ad space if a user purchases a product or other “action”. “I think cost per action over time will be the larger category,” Diller said.
