goto.com > Reviews (17)

This is the second of a serie of ops I intend to write on search engines.

...if you need to get your site listed prominently and you are a hero of capitalism. From a web master/marketing point of view, GOTO.com is a saviour. The arbitrary nature of the majority of search engines makes GoTo.com a welcome change and a necessary evil.

First you have to understand that GoTo.com is a search engine that auctions off the top positions of keyword search results to the highest bidder. So if you search "dog drool" the first results you will see will be those of companies or webmasters who have bid to have their site appear first. These bids typically range from .01 to .50 for each "click through". Though some bids have gone as high as $9.00 to $12.00. This means that if you as the search engine user click on the first result in our hypothetical case "Wet Spot's Slimey Dog Drool Site" who has bid $1.32 to be the first result returned. "Wet Spot" is obliged to pay GoTo.com $1.32 for the service of "delivering" you to their site. Now if "Wet Spot" has something to sell, from a marketing point of view it may very well be worth his while to pay $1.32 to have you visit his site. After all you initiated the search so therefor have identified yourself as someone with an interest in the topic of "Dog Drool." Now "Spot" just has to deliver some content that is worthwhile to you and perhaps encourage you to buy his new set of "6 plastic puppy pillowcase shams" for only three easy payments of $32.29 per month. It would be very difficult for "Spot" to identify a list of people with a drooling puppy problem if not for the help of the good people at GoTo.com.

For those who are interested in using GoTo.com as an advertising medium, the minimum requirement is a deposit of $25 from which your click through fees will be debited.

Some people have complained that somehow the results received by pay-per-click search engines like GoTo.com are somehow less desirable because the results are motivated by profit-hungry-not-to-be-trusted-capitali​sts who are just trying to lure poor innocent web searchers who are only trying to learn about some given topic, then coercing them into making purchases they had no intention of making.

Of course as a person who is essentially a not-to-be-trusted-profit-hungry-capitali​st I strongly disagree. In fact this search engine option is really just graphically illustrating the beauty of a market economy at work. In this model, companies vie for the opportunity to woo you the consumer by battling in the money pits, with the victory "going to" the one who is willing to pay the most for your attention. It's downright antebellum. Why you should swoon with delight. You should be happy to reward your kind knight by eagerly reading the victors webpage and thoughtfully reviewing the offer therein.

Why would the website of someone who is willing to shell out cold hard cash for the priviledge of having you consider his or her offer be suspect? I suspect this natural distrust has its roots in the American Protestant conservatism of our founding fathers (and mothers).

Let's get over it. It's a new millenium (really 2001). It's not cheap and vulgar anymore to admit that someone has something to sell, and that, that someone hopes to be paid in return for his or her product or service. Most of us are not the idle rich looking down our noses at the common merchant class. The Berlin wall is down. Does anyone remember Peristroika or the fall of the evil empire. Capitalism is cool. So don't fall for that left over communist mumbo jumbo or those ivory tower acedemics whining that only they can deliver the truth. GoTo.com is a trip into the gritty marketplace. It's not always pretty but you are in control. Look over what everyone has to offer and make the best choice based on your good judgement.

Viva le click. Viva GoTo.com.