Jim: "Yes it is."

(End of interview/chat session)

Let's take a longer look at Teoma

If you haven't visited Teoma yet and performed a few searches, you need to do so (http://www.teoma.com/). It's a really cool engine with some very interesting and helpful features.

For example, it's a no-nonsense engine like Google with one purpose only: search.

When you search at Teoma, you're given three sets of results:

* Results, which are relevant Web pages from Teoma index;

* Refine, which are suggestions for narrowing your search;

* Resources, which are link collections from experts and enthusiasts.

So with Teoma, if your search results are too broad, you can immediately narrow them down by choosing one of suggestions in Refine section.

And, in Resources area, you'll find "experts" in that particular focus area. This is an excellent place to find related and important sites that might be good candidates to contact about swapping links.

More on Ask Jeeves

Ask Jeeves is "question answering" search engine, which puts it into a class of its own. (http://www.askjeeves.com)

At top of search results, you'll see a "featured sponsor" section, which is their Premier Listing advertisement that we've discussed previously.

With some searches, you'll see a "sponsored links" section, which are results currently being provided by Overture. However, on September 3, Ask Jeeves will be switching to Google for their paid listings.

Then, you'll find search results from Teoma, followed by a section called, "Other people with your search have also asked:" In that section, you'll see additional questions that may help answer your initial question, with results coming from Ask.com.

Like at Teoma, you can narrow your search down by choosing one of search terms on right-hand side of page.

Ask Jeeves recently entered into an agreement with Google to display their Google AdWords in Ask Jeeves results effective September 3, 2002. Those results will be shown at both Ask Jeeves and Teoma as "sponsored links." For more information, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline echnology/AP-Ask-Jeeves- Google.html

In Conclusion

Teoma has taken over old Direct Hit site, and I believe we'll see some big things out of this fascinating engine in future.

Ask Jeeves is as it's always been: unique - a place where you can go and ask a question and be presented with several possible answers.

If you haven't submitted your site to Ask Jeeves/Teoma, and if your site isn't found in Teoma index, I strongly suggest that you consider their pay inclusion program and become a part of their index.

"PPC is average price per click you have set for yourself. For those using this for SEO, this can be left blank. The PPC can be changed or added at any time, allowing you to re-calculate your PPC using new information.

"CONV is number of conversions you have received from that particular search engine. The details about number of conversions are at next level.

"You can define what a conversion is:

-A "SALE" -A subscription -Downloading a file -Filling out a form -Or anything you consider to be an acquisition

"The CONV% is where KeywordTool calculates percentage of conversions based on number of referrals received from that search engine. It's really just a performance guide of search engine for keywords you have listings for.

"PPA is `price per acquisition.' It tells you how much each new customer costs you for that particular search engine. The number indicated is rounded to closest dollar.

"ROI is your potential return on investment. It's based on information provided and referrals and conversion rates recorded.

"Some of rows don't have information, because we haven't defined cost per click or estimated profit on that particular search engine. This can be added or updated at any time.

"Start next section by clicking on column marked `Clicks' to sort SE's from highest referrals to lowest. Yahoo US has highest number of referrals, so it comes to top of list.

"Click on `Yahoo.US.' It will then take you to next screen where there are 2 sections marked `search words' and `categories.' Search words are referrals from SE', and categories are from directories. Yahoo displays both so KeywordTool separates results.

"Click on `Search Words.' The next screen will display exact results and performance for each keyword phrase. Click on CONV to sort to highest conversion keywords in this section. This is section where you can start seeing which keywords are working well for you and which ones are not.

"The keywords that work well are ones that you can focus on to ensure they are also listed on other search engines. You can quickly see which of your initial chosen keywords are working well and which you might want to consider dropping or reviewing. You can then work to get improved listings on other search engines for a small select group of keywords that you are confident will give you highest ROI. The numbers provided in KeywordTool's reports could be used to make better, informed decisions.

"If a keyword phrase is not working well, it might either be wrong keyword for product offered or sales presentation is not working well on that page. Knowing that this keyword is not working well, you can then start to make changes to improve performance. For anyone who has tried tweaking your Google AdWords Select based on your copy and click performance, this works in much same way. With KeywordTool, it's fairly easy to know which keyword phrases to work on and which ones are working well for you already.

"The information KeywordTool provides will tell you how much potential a keyword phrase has, allowing you to know how much to invest in SEO or PPC.

"All information in KeywordTool sections can be exported to Excel easily so you can manipulate data and quickly determine what your strategy should be for getting better returns from your work. If you notice Expert to Excel link at top right of page, it's a very handy little tool."

(Continued in Part 2)