Ask.com to cut jobs, rethink product strategy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Online search site Ask.com will eliminate about 40 jobs, or about 8 percent of its workforce, and is reevaluating its product and marketing lineup under new Chief Executive Jim Safka.

Safka said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday that he had taken a close look at who uses Ask.com, which has nearly 45 million visitors per month, and what they want from the service.

The company, owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI.O), found that about 65 percent of its users are women, with a high concentration of users in their late 30s in the U.S. Midwest and Southeastern states. In the wider search market, women account for closer to 48 percent of users.

"If we can do a better job of understanding who these customers are and answering their questions, we will grow," Safka said. He was due to outline the strategy to staff on Tuesday.

"What this means is everything we do will be put through this strategic filter," Safka said, referring to future products and distribution outlets, from the Web to mobile phones.

Safka said the company would focus more closely on increasing the number of queries a user makes on its site and revenue per query.

He said Ask.com is also committed to its specialized search technology, despite reports that it might pull the plug on its Teoma engine in favor of a deal with Google Inc (GOOG.O).

"We've got world class technology and technologists that we're going to put on this task, and we're going to be adding to that group of people," Safka said.

Job cuts reflect positions not aligned with those goals, he said.

Safka is a well-regarded executive within IAC, the Internet conglomerate run by Barry Diller. Formerly the CEO of IAC's online dating network Match.com, Safka took the helm of Ask.com in January with the aim of turning around a search business that trails far behind Google and Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O).

Ask.com had spent millions of dollars marketing its service and expanding search into new applications in the last two years, but failed to gain more market share.

The unit is key to Diller's plan to restructure IAC by spinning off four of its largest businesses and focusing the remaining company on Internet media and advertising operations. The spin-off is currently the subject of a court battle between IAC and its largest shareholder, Liberty Media (LINTA.O).

Safka said it could take a few more months before the company articulates how the new view of its business will affect actual products, but its study of users already pointed to some important differentiating factors.

In terms of habits, Ask.com found that its users are three times more likely to conduct their search in the form of a complete question, such as "How do I cure a headache?", rather than focus on keywords alone.

Categories such as health, entertainment and reference information are among the strongest.

"You start to see a more human and emotional side to Ask because it's an emotional category," Safka said. "You can contrast that with our competitors. By definition they want to be robotic."

(Editing by Toni Reinhold)