Sensis kills its search, uses Google

Telstra subsidiary Sensis announced today that it would cease developing its local search engine, Sensis.com.au, instead using Google's engine to drive the site.

Sensis CEO Bruce Akhurst said the transfer was motivated by cost. "I should clarify that [Sensis search] has been a profitable business throughout the last couple of years, but we will be taking the costs out of that and using the Google technology."

Akhurst denied there would be lay-offs as a result of axing search development at Sensis. "We've got a lot of online activity, we have one of the biggest online businesses in the country, of course, so [the employees] will be well and truly utilised within the Sensis group."

Previous SEO modifications based on Google have significantly increased Sensis' online traffic, said Ackhurst.

"For the last couple of months we have had search engine optimising appearing on our Yellow sites ... that in itself has resulted in the fantastic result of over a million extra users per month to the Yellow Pages online site," he said.

Karim Temsamani, the Australian managing director of Google, said that the search results that appeared on a Sensis search would be "no different to the way the listings appear on Google.com.au, with sponsored results and organic results appearing as well when people do a search on Sensis.com.au".

Temsamani said the transfer to the Google search platform "would be replicated through [various] sites including BigPond.com". Revenue from the deal would be shared between Google and Sensis.

Temsamani denied this signalled any takeover of Telstra by Google, but said that the proposition was an "interesting question".

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It was beyond time .... John Fox -- 03/11/08

One thing I have always noticed is that I had never seen any yellowpages.com.au results in Google searches when I am looking for something.

Given that the printed book is a walking dinosaur and that people are now using online search as it is already at their fingertips, you've really got to wonder what sort of future "yellow" has.

All that needs to happen now is for the rest of the market to realise that their space isn't worth paying for and to invest the money in to a decent web site instead.

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Google Anonymous -- 03/11/08

'Google Smoogle' wins out. Yellow is dead as there are smarter ways of doing things. It is an electronic representation of a paper process - suppliers should be able to self register to a trading site to publish their products and/or services (who needs sales people selling print space)

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Sensis rearch demise Max Vondel -- 03/11/08

It's about time public opinion killed this dinosaur!!!! Even using simple search criteria ended up producing crap results. I have been frustrated by sensis and the publications they are supposed to make accessable. Search for Hardware CBD and get some place in Dubbo. Absolute rubbish, apart from charging business an arm and a leg for advertising that produces little results due to it's inherant flaws. R.I.P

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Goodbye to more jobs Google Schmoogle -- 03/11/08

Now that Sensis has climbed into the sack with Google in another typically telstra anti-competitive move they can sack at least some of their development team.

Now for something else that is interesting - Sensis is (soon to be was) the best search engine for Australian business use. Linking a search engine with results from telephone books, web directories, a national street directory database and aerial photos is something Sensis pioneered.

In my many uses of Sensis I haven't experienced the results quibbles that Max Vondel desribed so I can only assume that his problems are caused by user error.

Now to Google... The search engine whose policies have dictated the massive influx of pretenders in the link-building business, due to their own flawed model of gauging a web page's quality based on the number of inbound links to it - thus resulting in the PageRank which at the moment, due to constant butchering by Google, is about as relevant to site quality as the toast I burnt last Saturday.

Then there is the question of Google's barbaric policy of dictating to webmasters on site content and construction as well as SEO techniques. You have to do what Google wants or they redline your website - that is the long and the short of it.

So with Yahoo going soft and running Google's ads and now Sensis taking their search results it won't be long before user choice is eroded by Google and their depressive autocracy governing the entire Internet.

Sol has been suckered once again and Telstra's last remaining product with any credibility has been reduced to dust.

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User error ? Gorto -- 05/11/08 (in reply to #320115518)

As with Max Vondle, count my experience as "user error" - the Sensis Yellow Page user interface (and results) are a source of frustration (sometimes amusement) and have rarely provided me with easily derived, accurate information.
Good riddance - use technology that does work.

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User error Mel Sommersberg -- 05/11/08 (in reply to #320115600)

Regardless oof the search engine you use you will sometimes get irrelevant results. That is just how the system works. I'll add that just because Sensis will adopt Google's search doesn't mean they will offer the same results for a given search term. For that to happen Sensis will need to also adopt Google's methods for extracting search results from their databases.

As far as the international search engines go, Yahoo is a better choice than Google anyway and for more reasons than outlined by google Schoogle. I've dealt with Google in the past, as a webmaster, as a subscriber to AdSense and in a few other ways. Google is a dictatorial, cantankerous and autocratic behemoth that needs to be cut down a peg or three.

Personally I don't care what search engine people use. Relevance will at times mean one thing to someone and something else to the next person. I think the biggest point of all made by Google Schmoogle is that you'll soon get six from one and half a dozen from the other. What Sensis is doing is reducing competition at a time when we desperately need it.

If there is something wrong with a product that is on offer then that product should be refined and not scrapped - particularly when that product is Australian.

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Yellow Pages Luke Hulm -- 05/11/08

Australians search in many many ways and I agree with some comments here that user choice is a good thing.

Australians use Yellow Pages Print, Online and Voice products in droves and provide a valuable tool for businesses small and large to reach out to new prospective and existing clients.

Roy Morgan is used by Sensis to monitor Print Usage and Sensis have the facility to offer clients the ability to have their individual adverts monitored.

Any business would be mad to miss out on listing - why not put your details where people are looking for your services? Businesses only
pay for advertising where they believe it will generate positive ROI and only continue to spend when this value is proven.

Google can give pretty bad results.. example search for electrical supplies geraldton:

I get news articles, a Pilates studio, a fishing club and a travel website??!!!!! but not the details I need...

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Keep up the good work Telstra ! Pistol Pete -- 06/11/08

Telstra have a history of providing services which are bloated, expensive and useless. I would expect nothing less. Keep up the good work Telstra !

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