Search Engine ubExact announces beta launch
ubExact today announced the beta launch of the only direct navigation, action-based search engine. ubExact serves users with a fast and simple way to search based on user behavior/actions, geo-targeted metro service areas (MSAs) and direct navigation to desired brands. ubExact’s direct navigation architecture drastically improves relevance, content localization, micro-targeting, speed and organization of search results, while protecting user search privacy.
Organized, Relevant Results:
Algorithmic search engines create huge indexes of cached data, but lack the “contextual quality” only humans can provide. As a result, search results can be disorganized, inaccurate, obsolete and inundated with ads — which are often disguised as organic results. ubExact’s human-edited content seeks to eliminate dead links, spam, unwanted ads, as well as alert users to unanticipated requests for credit card and registration info.
“ubExact builds trust with users by cutting through irrelevant content and providing search options based on keyword matches that are aligned with what users are thinking,” said Wilhelmina Stephenson, CEO of ubExact. “ubExact attempts to impact the search world with added convenience, speed and organization, similar to how the iPod impacted the music industry.”
ubExact successfully organizes and intuitively categorizes Web content into actions: See It (reference), Do It (entertain), Shop It (buy), and Find It (navigate).(SM) Through its direct navigation methodology, ubExact also gives searchers the option of using their web browser address bar to get them to their desired result — without requiring them to have memorized the website address.
How ubExact’s Patent-Pending Technology Works
Using direct navigation adds an element of intuitiveness and simplicity and speeds users directly to branded websites. Users simply type “ubexactyourtopic.com” or “ubexactyourlocationmsa.com” in the browser address bar to get to their desired result. For users who enjoy a traditional search portal experience, “ubexact.com” provides intuitive tools, including maps, searching by action, and suggested topics to help define search criteria and direct users to their result. This way of searching gives users “contextual quality” results searchable by geography and topic.
A recent blog by Jeremy Crane of Compete, states only about 1/3 of all searches end in a referral, meaning 66% of users do not click on any of the results presented. While user frustration continues to heighten, as search result sets return with even more pages of disorganized, irrelevant results, the USC Center for the Digital Future found that only 52% of users trusted the information from search engines in 2007, down from 62% in 2006. For 2007, 49% of users trusted Google’s results.
“We know our indexes will be limited at launch, but they will continue to increase weekly as we continue to load our data and users help propagate our content with links that are most important to them,” added Ms. Stephenson. “We encourage the user community to participate in our Submit-A-Link(s) program so other users can benefit from their Web-wisdom.”
Increased Efficiency in Tracking Results
ubExact’s direct navigation, prefix driven architecture operates horizontally. So rather than digging down vertically for search results as you do with algorithmic search engines, users horizontally skim across a depository of websites that are organized and put in relevant categories. This makes searching faster, results more accurate and gives users many doors to get to relevant results. ubExact’s horizontal architecture is also scalable to advancing technology, including the move towards voice recognition and mobile search technologies.
ubExact is the only search engine capable of tracking the context of a user’s search from website to website. Searching with ubExact means your search history follows you across the ubExact platform. This patent-pending history-tracking feature eliminates the need to use your “back button” during your ubExact search session. To protect your search privacy, the history of your search instantly disappears from the computer screen when you leave ubExact.
Securing User Privacy
Traditional search engines have begun to use their algorithms to build “relevance” at the expense of user privacy. Search engines and browsers have even been known to hijack a user’s address bar or read the “favorites” a user saves on their personal computer — just to improve result relevancy. However, most users don’t realize that by downloading or signing up for specific services (which are usually provided free), they are giving legal permission to be tracked — indefinitely — by default. To stop those search engines and browsers from what many condemn and label as invisible tracking, and uninstall or deselect tracking mechanisms, users are generally on their own to figure-out how to “opt-out” of being permanently tracked.
ubExact does not invade the user’s browser or favorites, or seek to track user-specific demographic information. ubExact ensures user privacy by using only “short-term cookies” for tracking system profiling (our search engine’s performance and errors) and what we are rendering for the advertiser, such as keywords a user uses. We do not actively pursue specific demographics of an individual and certainly do not invade upon what a user keeps on their personal computer. Furthermore, ubExact’s system log files are consistent with Internet-based services “though ubExact has chosen to delete log files every 60 days.” ubExact has also designed its user session cookies to automatically expire when a user’s search session ends, so users do not have to “learn how to uninstall technology” that few understand. ubExact realizes privacy is paramount to the online community and works to preserve user trust by designing itself to be “user-centric.”
Source: MarketWatch
September 4th, 2008 at 12:32 am
This is an interesting (and novel) approach to a search engine, especially the modifying the domain name to filter your search.
However, after trying it out… I wonder exactly HOW useful this will be. To me, it seems more confusing to add a specific filter or area I’m trying to search to the address bar.
Now, I realize that this is a new approach and I love that they’re challenging the status quo, however… will it be adopted by the public?
A lot of people don’t even know how to use the address bar and type in a URL into the search engine directly, so how will this affect them as well?
September 5th, 2008 at 2:30 am
Troy, first let me say thanks for checking out ubExact. Your comments brought up some interesting points. You mention usefulness and confusion in “…adding a specific filter or area I’m trying to search to the address bar.” Let me ask, “Is this because you are ‘use’ to using the address bar for typing addresses, and not for searching?” If so, you are not alone. But the general public, in mass, “is trying”. If touting a website address was not an effective marketing tool; brands would just “say their name” and be done with it. But they don’t… brands repeatedly mention website addresses knowing that when it sticks in a user’s memory, it’s the most cost effective way for that user to reach them. But users are facing user-memory-loss because of all the addresses thrown at them. ubExact makes that less of an issue. Most often, users don’t even have to know a brand’s address to reach them.
ubExact is designed to streamline filtering by adding it as a feature to the URL, providing precise results for even niche audiences, without the need to invade user privacy by ‘tracking them’ or ‘hijacking their address bar’.
Furthermore, the research we performed indicated filtering and categorization were both considered desirable attributes. So we implemented these filters, by design. Does this mean the general public will adopt this method openly? Certainly we’d like to say yes; especially since the comments we received during research indicated that users felt built in filters meant one less step required by the users, and it was more intuitive to what users were actually thinking. Additionally, our search-by-action filter was perceived to allow users and advertisers to micro-target specific topics and user segments in a way never before performed. But the truth of the matter is - adoption by the public is a decision that only the general public can make.
You also mention, “A lot of people don’t know how to use their search bar and type in a URL into the search engine directly…” That is true. But users are more attuned to the address bar than you might imagine. In fact, the StatMarket division of WebSideStory® notes that more than two-thirds of all global Internet users arrive at a website via direct navigation (typing in their address bar), compared with just 14% from search engines.
ubExact just takes this effective direct navigation methodology and has built it directly into our URL architecture - for the user’s benefit.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Wilhelmina, your decision to encourage users to search with ‘keyword URLs’ is really an incredibly perplexing one. For example, consider if your search engine becomes even a moderate success. How will you stop scammers, phishers, hackers, and competitors from registering their own ubexactwhatever.com addresses? You’ll be in a constant unsustainable race to buy up millions of domain name addresses or litigate against those who get to certain keywords first.
Using subdomains, such as http://topic.ubexact.com, would have been free. It would have kept all users safely at your own domain. It would have just been as easy for users to search that way, through the url bar, and it would have allowed you to give users meaningful ‘topic not found’ results instead of a generic domain name not found message from their browser.
Not to mention the haphazard way you’ve gone about registering over 4000 keyword urls. You have ubexactabbafather.com … not exactly a generic search term, but no ubexactrealty.com. Sure you have realestate, and realtor, but not realty. You have ‘ubexactaccousticalmusic’ (sic) but not the correct spelling of ubexactacousticmusic.com. See the problem you’re going to run into? Every tiny variation is another registration fee, but if you don’t register every variation and every misspelling, this scheme is more frustrating than it is helpful.
Also your FAQ states you will not index ‘inappropriate content’. I think the last thing most people are looking for in a web search engine is broad, vague, and arbitrary promises of censorship without explanation. What is inappropriate content? Who will make that decision, and by what measures?
September 5th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
The only viable reason I can fathom the ubexactsearchterm.com method was chosen over ubexect.com/searchterm is that her brother owns a domain registrar.
September 7th, 2008 at 2:33 am
Daniel, thanks for your well thought out questions. I will try to address each one.
You question why ubExact is not designed around subdomains. The simple answer is that we deliberately chose not to build it that way, for several reasons. The first is that we wanted a design that was horizontal (primary URL to URL to URL…) as opposed to vertical (primary URL to subdomain to sub-subdomain… i.e. topic.ubexact.com). Now that might seem odd because no other search engine does this. But it does not make us wrong, just different. ubExact is doing something no other search architecture has ever done.
By using the ubExact-prefix-code for search terms, a user is not constrained to entering a front door (homepage) then searching from a search box or clicking homepage links to navigate to results (though we also provide this for users who prefer a portal experience). ubExact users can skim horizontally across a depository of domains and enter our search architecture through any one of many doors, and land directly on their search term result page, without having to worry about where to put the dot, backslash, or hyphen, or if it requires a different extension (we are all dot com - though we do own the others).
Regarding our registration of what may seem like non-generic names (in your example ‘ubexactabbafather’), that was done to accommodate a specific niche user community. Though it may or may not appeal to everyone, there is a whole religious online community that identifies with the words ‘Abba Father’. Have you any idea how many people are into ballooning? There are vast numbers of niche communities that we can cater to. The point being, we’ve built ubExact for not only the masses, but for those lesser known, though no lesser important, very specific communities. Have we included them all? No. We haven’t yet loaded our results for the unique URL you questioned. And is it likely a community exists for the other term you mentioned - realty? Yes. But since there are many popular keywords this user community searches on, we selected the 50 they use the most.
Do we have all keyword URLs, and their permeations? No. But we have a start. And though you note a 4,000 URL number, we actually have many more. And we can easily scale our URL repository as we upload and grow our data set.
Did a few misspellings accidently get registered? Yes. We assume the rest of the world is also not perfect. We are a small humble startup doing something new and very different. Designing something user-centric, from the perspective of a user, and not from the perspective of ‘technically it should be done this way’ is how we became different. ubExact was built out of frustration in the way current search renders results. So it seemed the best way to create a change was to do just that - create.
As far as others registering their own ubexactwhatever.com address, you are correct this could happen. But we’ve taken measures to have any registrations of our trademarked name monitored - around the world. And registrars openly take down names that have been registered with the intent to harm (which such action would clearly fall within). We will certainly defend our legal position on this.
Another benefit (though quite a challenge) in designing a horizontal search architecture (URL to URL) is our ability to have a search session history feature that travels - in context - across URLs. This is also very unique and user-centric. ubExact users do not have to rely on their back button to go from point A to Z, or any stop along the way. Our research has shown users find this a refreshing relief.
You asked the question, “What is inappropriate content” and stated that we’ve “made broad, vague, and arbitrary promises of censorship without explanation.” Included in our FAQ is a statement about our intent to provide a family-friendly search experience. Though we realize just about anything is game on the Internet and with some individuals, we believe most families would find explicit sexual content or obvious vulgar and racist references inappropriate. Therefore, we choose not to index those sites and will do our best to see that these type sites do not surface. This is no different than any other search engine that has a ‘safe surfing’ filter built into their search architecture.
Again, thank you for the time and thought you put into examining ubExact. I hope I answered your questions.
October 14th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I tried ubexact, it is buggy and the results aren’t relevant. just another search engine failure like cuil. these people are probably just fishing to be bought by microsoft.