Ever since Ask Jeeves revamped its search engine three years ago by purchasing and deploying Teoma search technology, many industry experts have considered it a serious contender.

But the Internet company, which says its property is the 9th largest on the web with 42 million unique visitors each month, may have run into a wall in its efforts to gain on Google.

A merger with IAC/InterActiveCorp puts Ask Jeeves in a position to monetize its search business through Diller's vast sales channels, which include Ticketmaster, Home Shopping Network, and Lending Tree.

Scrappy Innovators

Ask Jeeves has been savvy. It was ahead of the competition in introducing desktop search tools and has articulated a clearer business model around blogging than the big three. "We certainly have been smaller than [Google, Yahoo and MSN], but we've been scrappy and innovative in growing our search share, and doubling it to about 7 percent," said Scott Garell, executive vice president of Ask Jeeves' Web properties.

But a more direct route to getting cash flow from search may lie within the sales channels of products themselves. Think Amazon.com's A9 search engine. Google, Yahoo and MSN are moving into this area. With today's announcement, Ask Jeeves appears to have catapulted into it.

"If you combine our progress with the resources of IAC we have a huge opportunity to build the brand," Garell told NewsFactor. Ask Jeeves benefits by becoming co-branded with IAC Web properties, and vice versa.

Power Couple

The move by IAC could represent a major step in the evolution of search engines. Simple search, from a start page, is one thing. Contextual search, especially from the desktop, promises to deliver more focused information to consumers and could bring in more revenue.

"This is going to have an impact on the emerging desktop search market," Tim Hickernell of Meta Group told NewsFactor. "They're hitting a target market that is different than what Google hits," he pointed out.

Google's desktop search technology is being adopted by many tech-oriented users. IAC's Web sites are geared toward the much larger non-tech audience -- those who might be called "plain old consumers." IAC businesses, like the Home Shopping Network, and Ask Jeeves could make a powerful combination.