Ready, Set, Take a Test, Go.

MSN Search’s Weblog announced the release of their new Start page for their websearch. But to get there you have to answer five questions to get the URL for the page. First of all, what? I don’t want to jump through hoops just to look at your new product. Second of all, why? As SEW explains, MSN is looking to promote their Instant Answers feature which is why it’s a little baffling that the last question doesn’t even have an instant answer box attached.

Having worked through the five questions, you’re given a link to the new Start. The new interface is clean and ad-free (so far) but why make people take a test to get there? And once you get there, a little instruction would be helpful. Randomly clicking eventually let me figure out how to add new feeds to the page but since it couldn’t remember what I’d already read, it was quite frustrating.

A little more memory and a little less over-clever cross marketing, please.

Susan Esparza is former managing editor at Bruce Clay Inc., and has written extensively for clients and internal publications. Along with Bruce Clay, she is co-author of the first edition of Search Engine Optimization All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies.

See Susan's author page for links to connect on social media.