There are at least three types of Internet surfers: 1) the professional researcher, 2) the work searcher and 3) the casual surfer. What these three types of individuals have in common is that they do not always know for certain what they are exactly looking for in every case. The problem is that although there are billions of web pages available providing information, what we are looking for is not always readily available and multiple searches are sometimes necessary. A new player, strangely enough from the pay per click advertising industry, is now offering up its search engine advertising technology to make the search process a whole lot less painful.

7Search.com, the second most trafficked PPC search engine, is currently developing its Predictive Search™ Technology and seeking a patent. According to the PredictiveSearch.com web site: “This search engine advertising methodology allows advertisers in one field of business to promote web sites within search terms of related or adjunct industries.” What this means is that advertisers can promote their website using keywords that are adjunct to a prospective customers' search. For example, advertisers selling “flowers” can now promote themselves under the keyword “greeting cards.”

Predictive Search results appear on the right side of a traditional search engines search return list (which contains relevant results for the surfers query). The Predictive Search column will display advertisers’ products or services that “attach, complement, enhance, safeguard, compete or are needed in parallel with the products or services they (surfers) are searching for,” according to the website. Predictive Search uses a Yahoo Style categorization system and associates keywords to each category. With literally billions of potential keyword combinations available, 7Search.com's technology will automatically suggest to advertisers all the search terms that surfers are likely to use when searching for their product or service by associating keywords to specific category, which in turn is associated with an advertisers site.

7Search.com’s keyword editors are currently generating search terms and advertiser category assignments for current and new advertisers. “With our editors knowledge and search experience we are continually adding relevant and adjunct search terms to each category of business. This will enable 7search to grow Predictive Search until it is a comprehensive Web search methodology,” said Gemma Piscotti, General Manager of 7Search.

The benefits to searchers are many. Predictive search provides surfers with a comprehensive collection of information in one search. By assigning sites categories and categories in turn keywords, 7Search can anticipate surfers’ subsequent needs and save them time when searching for information. In addition, 7Search sorts its Predictive Results by displaying one website for each type of associated category. Once searchers select the category of their choice, they can click to see all the members for that category one after the other on a popup screen.

7Search is licensing this technology to all search engines in English speaking countries for free and letting them receive a part of the advertisers' commission to further increase the number of visitors to its’ clients’ sites.