Looking forward with BTLookSmart

Originally published on EuropeMedia.net, 14/01/2002

In the continuation of a series of articles, Duncan Parry talks to Martin Turner, CEO of BTLookSmart, about the company’s future plans.

Q: Given the downturn in online advertising, can you say if BTLookSmart has experienced any decrease in advertising revenue - and how are your future plans affected by the current economic situation?

BTLookSmart: Our advertising revenues have continued to grow at double-digit levels over the past few months largely as a result of being able to deliver compelling search targeted advertising solutions that deliver low cost qualified leads.

Q: LookSmart US accepts listings in its non-business sections via the community site Zeal. Are there any plans to accept unpaid listings in a similar way in the UK?

BTLookSmart: Firstly, let me say that our local editors add hundreds of new sites each month to each of our directories at no costs across all areas of interest. We are currently evaluating the demand for offering a solution similar to Zeal in the USA and will be making a decision on whether to launch in the UK shortly.

Q: BTLookSmart's directory is used by several high profile sites. Do the future plans for BTLookSmart include continuing to promote Looksmart.co.uk as an online destination in its own right? Or are you concentrating on providing a directory service to other sites, using the BTLookSmart as a vehicle to attract paid submissions?

BTLookSmart: We will continue to maintain LookSmart.co.uk. However, our core focus is to deliver excellent search solutions through our many syndicate and licence partners.

Q: Lycos and other portals are now offering advertisers different advert sizes and formats. Will BTLookSmart be offering advertisers new advertising formats in future?

BTLookSmart: We have a pedigree of offering some of the latest and most compelling advertising solutions. BTLookSmart was the first search engine to offer and publish transitional ads linked to keyword and category searches. We intend to continue to offer new formats/sizes to meet the needs of our advertisers whilst maintaining an appropriate balance to ensure that the user experience remains excellent.

Q: What are BTLookSmart's future plans for WAP and 3G - will you be looking to offer a directory for mobile internet devices?

BTLookSmart: We already offer directories for the WAP platform. It would be fair to say that the demand for these has not been great given the limited WAP take-up. We are currently assessing the viability of developing/maintaining 3G directories and will make a decision once we begin to see significant user-take up of this new mobile technology.

Thanks to Martin Turner and BTLookSmart for taking part in this interview.