Ask Jeeves to follow Google's lead on ads
The number 5 site on the Web is also following in Google's footsteps according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
Search site Ask Jeeves Inc. said it has stopped using banner ads, saying they are annoying to users and unappealing to advertisers, and will instead focus on ads tied directly to search terms.
...Last month, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (www.iab.net), an industry trade group that tracks online ads and sets standards, recommended to its members that they stop offering advertisers standard banner ads, and instead offer larger-format ads that are harder for users to ignore. Ask Jeeves, an IAB member, said its decision to drop banner ads wasn't related to the group's recommendation. In the second quarter of 2002, banner ads made up 32% of all ads online in terms of revenue, down from 55% at their peak in 1997, according to the IAB.