Search Engine Optimization

Ask.com — saying it plans to compete against the likes of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft — has announced a new “Super Verticals” strategy to take on its much larger rivals. These are specialized search engines that provide direct answers to factual questions. First off the mark? A NASCAR search engine. And yes, Ask also becomes the official search engine of NASCAR. - Search Engine Land

According to the article Ask.com plans to launch multiple super vertical search engines

Google is a super vertical in one box

Ask’s strategy is to attract search users with highly relevant, but specialized search engines. When searchers need to do a search outside of the topic, they will need to navigate to the main Ask.com box.

If we look at Google, whether its a NASCAR search or general search, it offers answers to any questions, regardless of verticals. In a sense it’s a super vertical search engine for all the topics in the world in one place. There’s no need to go to Google “NASCAR” section when you want to search for it, nor there’s a need to go elsewhere when you’re researching a school project. It’s all there, in one place, in one box.

Google also made a move from it’s verticals into one box such as Books, Maps, Shopping and other verticals naming it unversal search.

On the other hand, Ask.com plans to use verticals mainly for traffic, and hopefully for customer acquisition. Later it can do the same thing Google did – blend all verticals into “Universal Search”