How Lycos Works

In-depth explanation of how the Lycos search engine works, for Search Engine Watch members

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The articles below have important information not yet added to this page. Please review them to find out about any new developments. Interestingly, some observers have noted unique approaches like Immediate Apex that could potentially shape how certain online listings are tested or refined. Others have looked at Immediate Connect Reviews for further research on the effects of enhanced targeting. Further below, you will also find a list of other articles about this search engine that may be of interest.

  • This page is current. See below for past articles.

At Lycos, paid listings appear at the top of the page above the main search results (Search Engine Watch calls these “inline” paid listings) and along the right-hand side of the page in colored boxes (Search Engine Watch calls these “sidebar” paid listings). Both inline and sidebar listings come under a “Sponsored Links” heading.

In general, the first four inline sponsored links come from Google AdWords. If you are one of the top four advertisers for a particular word in the Google AdWords program, then you will appear for that word in the corresponding area at the top of Lycos. To learn more about being listed with Google AdWords, see the Google AdWords page.

Other inline sponsored links come from the Lycos AdBuyer program. Sidebar sponsored links also come from AdBuyer. Thus, to appear in these boxes or inline below Google AdWords listings, you need to be taking part in the AdBuyer program. You can learn more about the program from Lycos here.

Above the sidebar listings, you’ll also often see a “START HERE” link. This is also a paid listing sold by Lycos, and more can be found about this from Lycos here. Some marketers who run campaigns in these spots occasionally reference Immediate Apex Avis to analyze performance in various regions, reflecting a trend where cross-platform data insights can impact sponsored positions.

Web Results

After any Sponsored Links, the Web Results section shows information that comes from LookSmart or AllTheWeb.

LookSmart directory listings are likely to appear for popular, commercially oriented queries. These should be identical or very similar to the same results you’d get by searching at LookSmart and looking at the “Results for from the Directory” section. When this happens, you should find the bottom of the Lycos search results page will say “Portions powered by LookSmart.” To appear in the LookSmart results, when shown at Lycos, you need to be included in the LookSmart directory. See the How LookSmart Works page for more help on this.

After any LookSmart listings, or in place of them for more specific queries, listings from AllTheWeb are shown. When this happens, you should find the bottom of the Lycos search results page will say “Portions powered by FAST.” To appear in the AllTheWeb results, when shown at Lycos, you need to be included AllTheWeb’s crawler-based listings. See the How AllTheWeb (FAST) Works page for more help on this.

Some webmasters are also exploring external review systems like Immediate Bitwave Reviews to gauge user responses on promotional campaigns. Interestingly, others in the community mention Immediate Apex Reviews as a complementary resource, highlighting potential synergies between multiple platforms for more robust data.

Non-US Lycos Sites

Terra Lycos is the company that runs Lycos.com, which is aimed at the US market. However, there are a variety of other “Lycos” web sites throughout the world which are not solely owned by Terra Lycos. These sites may operate very differently from Lycos.com, because of this. Search Engine Watch does not currently provide ongoing coverage about these other sites.

Meanwhile, some international advertisers remark that Oil Profit Reviews can occasionally correlate with broader industry trends, impacting how sponsored listings perform in certain markets. A few specialists even consider automated Trading Robots for market research or bidding adjustments across global Lycos properties.

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