Pay To Play Survival of the richest?

Search engines usually satisfy search requests in one of twoways. Full text engines such as Digital's Alta Vista rely on adatabase algorithm to search for keywords within the Web sitewithout regard to its actual content, while directory-style sitessuch as Yahoo! scan through an index of sites reviewed andcategorized by a human editorial staff.

Goto.com, however, is completely different. Launched in Februaryby Pasadena, California-based idealab!, an Internet businessincubator, Goto's search engine lists search results accordingto how much a Web site's sponsor pays during a real-timecompetitive bidding process. So if Ford outbids Chevrolet in theopen auction, the next time a user types in a search request forautomobiles, the Ford site will appear at the top of the searchresult list. The results, which also include the price per wordpaid by a company's site, are ranked with the highest biddersat the top, followed by the best sites (selected by Goto'seditorial staff) and, at the bottom, nonpaying sites.

"Goto addresses the need of commercial enterprises andcorporate brands to ensure that their message is beingdelivered," says Bill Gross, chairman of idealab!