Masterseek

Masterseek Corp. is a B2B (business-to-business) search engine founded in Denmark in 1999.[1]

Masterseek
TypePrivate
IndustryInternet
Computer software
FoundedDenmark (1999)
FounderRasmus Refer
Headquarters
New York City
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Rasmus Refer (Co-Founder, CEO)
Jørgen Trygved (Co-Founder)
ProductsB2B Search Engine
SubsidiariesAccoona
Websitewww.masterseek.com

Masterseek now encompasses 175 million business profiles, 346 million websites, and 450 million contacts of which 216 million are LinkedIn members thus making Masterseek the largest commercial database in the world.

Founding

Masterseek was founded in Denmark by Rasmus Refer in 1999.[1] Their Denmark headquarters is located at Bredgade 29, DK-1260 Kbh. K, and they also have a current headquarters in New York City, at 82 Wall Street.[2]

According to its executives, Masterseek utilizes a business model based on an annual business subscription fee of USD $149, in return for which subscribers receive full editing control over their corporate profile, content and advertising, and control over widgets and embedded video, among other factors.[3]

Finances

As of June 2008, accountancy firm Horwart International had approximated the raw market value of the Masterseek company at $150 million.[4] The company remains privately owned, but also in June 2008, it sold 10% of its authorized stocks to a range of foreign investors.[4] The company announced on January 31, 2009 that they company was again offering a limited number of shares for sale in order to raise $4–6 million in order to gain a listing on the Swedish marketplace AktieTorget. Founder Refer also announced there were plans for an IPO.[5] By October 2009, they had signed with the Swedish-based company Thenberg & Kinde Fondkommission AB for financing.[6]

Statistics

In June 2008, the company stated it had 50 million company profiles, from over 75 countries, and handled 90,000 B2B searches daily.[1][5][7] The company stated they had 82 million profiles on March 21, 2011, with an average of 300,000 new profiles added monthly.[3]

In 2017, the company stated it had more than 178 million company profiles.

Acquiring Accoona

On October 30, 2008, it was announced that Masterseek had acquired the B2B search engine Accoona.[1][8]

The search engine had been fairly successful in the United States and China,[9] where it had an exclusive partnership with China Daily.[10] On August 3, 2006, TIME had dubbed Accoona one of its "50 best websites," illustrating how the search engine used artificial intelligence to "understand" the meaning of keyword queries.[11] Accoona had run into difficulties and gone defunct by early October 2008, withdrawing its IPO.[10] making it possible for Masterseek to acquire their data and technology.

After Masterseek bought the remaining search engine codes, domain name, and assets,[1] Accoona was integrated with Masterseek, and re-launched in the USA and China. It was launched in Europe in January 2009.[9] Accoona information was also integrated into the Masterseek search engine.[1]

Technology

The Masterseek search engine relies on web crawlers that automatically collect and sort company details from the internet.[7] Searches can look up company profiles, contact information, and descriptions of products and services. Searches can be global, national, regional, or involved local markets. Hits are listed by relevance according to search terms. There are different search options, including a specific product search, company searches, and people searches. Results can be displayed in most languages.[6] The search engine also offers MasterRank, a point system for ranking corporate websites.[12]

Sponsorships

On July 5, 2007, Masterseek announced they were cosponsors to Team CSC, Denmark's cycling team, beginning with the team's involvement in the Tour de France. The Masterseek name began to be displayed on the team's apparel that week, with the Tour's start in London.[2]

Management
  • Rasmus Refer - Founder and Director

See also

References
  1. Hartzer, Bill (November 5, 2008). "B2B Search Engine Accoona Acquired by Masterseek". BillHartzer.com: Search Engine Marketing. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  2. "Masterseek Cosponsors Team Csc". Global Business Profiles. May 4, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  3. "Masterseek Expected to Release Beta Version of Search Engine". WirePRNews. March 21, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  4. Masterseek (June 27, 2008). "Search Engine is Looking for Strategic Investors". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  5. "Masterseek.com Is Planning for an IPO". Reuters. January 31, 2009. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  6. Morgan, KC (October 27, 2009). "Masterseek: a Global Business Search Engine". SEOchat. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  7. "Global Business Search Engine to Strengthen Its Advertising Network for B2B Search". Reuters. June 26, 2008. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  8. "Almost-Dead Search Engine Accoona Bought by Denmark's Masterseek". Paid Content. November 2008. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  9. Johnson, Nathania (November 5, 2008). "Accoona Acquired by Masterseek". Search Engine Watch. Archived from the original on April 13, 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  10. Krangel, Eric (October 3, 2008). "Dead Search Engine Accoona Officially Dead". Business Insider. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  11. Buechner, Maryanne (August 3, 2006). "50 Coolest Websites: 2006". TIME. Archived from the original on August 19, 2006. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
  12. "Masterseek Corp". Businessweek. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
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