Search engines rethink paid inclusion

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Search engines are rethinking a controversial practice of allowing marketers to buy their way into free Web search listings, or programs known as paid inclusion.

Ask Jeeves, one of the largest Web search properties, said Wednesday it will phase out its paid-inclusion program altogether in the coming months after having trimmed it in February. The newly terminated service, called Site Submit, allows marketers to pay an annual fee of $30 to submit a Web address into its search engine.

Industry leader Yahoo is also considering nixing certain fees for commercial Web sites that seek to ensure exposure in the site's free search results, according to several sources close to the company. Yahoo launched a service in early March that offers marketers swifter inclusion in its search index with both an annual flat fee for site review and a "per click" rate each time a visitor clicks on their listing in results.

According to several search engine marketing executives, Yahoo has been considering doing away with the per-click fees on the grounds that many small and medium-size businesses have balked at the traffic tolls.