LookSmart
Early web directory and pay-per-click network that lost most of its revenue overnight when Microsoft left in 2003.
Henderson, Nevada, USA · founded 1995 · looksmart.com
What LookSmart does
LookSmart began in Melbourne, Australia in 1995 as a web directory, and listed on Nasdaq in 1999. It supplied directory listings and paid search results to bigger portals, above all Microsoft's MSN.
Microsoft provided roughly 70% of its revenue. On 6 October 2003 Microsoft said it would not renew, the shares fell by about half in a day, and the company cut half its staff that December. It is the original lesson in concentration risk for anyone whose income depends on one search partner.
LookSmart still exists as a small search-advertising network. Its shares were removed from Nasdaq and are quoted over the counter, so no exchange listing is shown here.
How it makes money
Pay-per-click advertising distributed across its own and partner sites.
Where it meets invalid traffic
Second-tier pay-per-click networks have long had a reputation among advertisers for low-quality clicks, since their traffic comes largely from syndication partners.
Products
- LookSmart pay-per-click network