Tech upgrade: improving local search
Assalamu Alaikum!
At I’mHalal we’re constantly w0rking on improving our service. In the last year we’ve come very far, going from a very simple search application trying to solve a complex problem, to a mature search engine. A lot of the problems we originally wanted to solve have been solved. For instance, our system is almost flawless in returning Halal results when a users searches for something a little less Halal. That’s unique, and we think that’s great. However, when creating new technology new problems can surface over time. For instance, a lot of our users told us that I’mHalal does work great for global searches, but doesn’t work that good for local searches.
This month, we’ll be upgrading I’mHalal to the next major version: 5. The focus is, as you expect, on local search. In order to make that work as it should, we had to solve a whole lot of new problems: from determining where you are, in a non-invasive way and optimizing our result index to that location. That means a lot of work under the hood, and while I’mHalal 5 isn’t finished yet, I can already tell you (proudly, I must admit) that I’mHalal 5 will behave much more natural, based on your local context. Rest assure though, we’ve made sure that we’re not invading your privacy, like some competitors tend to do.
Along with I’mHalal 5 we’ll also be releasing another big thing: Halal advertising. This is big news for companies, but for I’mHalal users as well. When you’re looking for a particular, commercial product, relevant advertisements will appear. It could be just the thing you were looking for, and since we make sure that every product and company isn’t Haram, you can be sure that the product you were looking for is in sync with the Islamic lifestyle. For publishers it’s great as well, since you’ll be able to target a very particular market very easily. The back-end will give you full control about the budget, your audience and how you want to be found.
When I’mHalal 5 and the Halal advertising platform are live, we’ll release another big thing, this time great stuff for Muslim webmasters. We’ll extend the advertising platform to content. That means that you can very easily make money with your website by displaying our Halal ads. The advantage is obvious: the ads will be relevant to your content at all times, you can be sure that the products and companies behind the ads check out and we save you the trouble of finding advertisers. It doesn’t even matter if you own a big, high traffic website or a small, personal website. I can’t tell you when that’ll go live yet, but keep an eye on this blog for more information!
Keep an eye on our blog and happy searching!
With best regards,
Fabian Tollenaar
Chief Technology Officer
ruba zakaria, 
muslim, and 
NAZIF are discussing. 
NAZIF 11:20 PM on July 3, 2010 Permalink
italia
muslim 10:55 PM on July 12, 2010 Permalink
jizakom allah keer
ruba zakaria 10:45 AM on July 16, 2010 Permalink
Salamu Alaikum..
congrats for the launch of I”mHalal search engine! its great!
May i suggest working with a fatwa website that answers questions related to Islamic banking and all financial aspects from sharia’h prespective? A friend sent me this link: http://www.minhajadvisory.com/en/index.php and its worth looking at.
I wish you all the success
Regards