Ask adds site statistics, downloading time and pop-up warnings to search results.

Ask has had “binoculars” for some time now. Move your cursor over the binocular symbol found besides many of the search engine result listings, and and Ask will open a small window or “bubble” containing a small graphic presentation of the web page.

Ask has now improved this service by adding two new types of information:

1. Information on speed and plug-ins

Below the preview thumbnail Ask has added information on the total size of all the elements on the page and how long it will take to download it on a 56K modem. This time information can be useful for those that do not have access to broadband.

The binocular will also tell you whether the site requires a Flash plugin and — and that’s maybe more important — whether it servers pop-ups.

Most serious sites have given up on pop-ups a long time ago as they annoy visitors. The presence of pop-ups may therefore tell you something about the quality of the site.

2. Information on traffic and popularity

Within the binocular window there is a new tab giving access to statistics from Compete.com.

Compete follows more than two million U.S. Internet users that have given them permission to analyze the web pages they visit and ask them questions via surveys.

This means that the statistics delivered by Ask are very unreliable on a global scale, but may nevertheless give you a certain impression of the site’s popularity, and therefore by proxy also its quality.

If you haven’t done so in a while, do take a look at Ask. The search engine is very innovative. Although it may lag behind Google as regards how it generates search engine results, we believe it is now better than Google in the way it presents them.

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