LookSmart Search Engine Analysis

LookSmart Goes 100% Pay-Per-Click

There was a time when you could submit a website to LookSmart for editorial review, and expect to have your site listed in the LookSmart directory within a few weeks.

There was a time when you could pay LookSmart $299.00 for editorial review, and expect to have your site listed in the LookSmart directory within a few days.

On April 12, 2002, LookSmart began sending emails to all of the site owners who paid the $299.00 fee informing them that now all they have is $299.00 credit towards LookSmart's new pay-per-click account.  LookSmart is charging a flat rate of $0.15/visitor and offering a $60.00 credit (400 visitors) for the first month to customers who signed up before the announcement.  They also offer $15.00/month credit for 20 months.

The offer does not enhance your chances of winning on LookSmart.  You will still need an SEO expert to do that.

For new customers, LookSmart offers the "service" for a listing set-up fee of $49.00.  Until April 30, they are offering a $20.00 discount.

There is a $15.00/month minimum expenditure on LookSmart (100 visitors).  That means you need to be able to make more than 15 cents per visitor to your site for the investment to pay off, AND you need to get all 100 visitors each month.  LookSmart has no clear policy on what happens if your site does not receive the minimum 100 visitors per month.  Read the LookSmart Terms of Service here.

LookSmart also has a project like the Open Directory Project where volunteers assist in building the directory, but only for non-profit sites.  The project is called Zeal.  You can read our analysis of Zeal here.