It’s no secret. Microsoft is dead set on replacing Google as the reigning king of paid search advertising.
Even though their investments in developing better ad serving technology have been unbelievable, their share of the search pie has been absolutely stagnant. I could be wrong, but as far as I can remember, MSN search has been stuck at approximately 15% for at least 3 years now.
It seems they have found a shortcut to topple Google much faster than most anticipated. “According to the Wall Street Journal,”:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114662449016042303.html?mod=home_whats_news_us Microsoft appears interested in acquiring search juggernaut Yahoo!
I’m not surprised by this move. In fact, “it was my main prediction for the world of search in 2006.”:http://www.onedegree.ca/2006/01/09/polishing-the-search-crystal-ball
If they ever hope to catch up with Google, Microsoft needs to leverage Yahoo’s existing network of advertisers as well as its search traffic. The new Microsoft AdCenter is much more sophisticated software than what Yahoo currently offers, in fact it is in many respects a better offering than Google’s, namely because of their ability to target searchers based on income, age group, gender, and geographic location.
The combination of these two gigantic search networks, along with their massive base of advertisers, and Microsoft’s sweet AdCenter technology is their best shot if they hope to beat Google at their own game within the next decade.
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This is fascinating.
I heard a few weeks ago that Ask.com is growing rapidly and has in fact eclipsed MSN in number of searches, making Ask.com #3 and MSN #4. It certainly did not bode well for Microsoft in what is essentially already a one horse race.
I think Yahoo has some serious trouble on their hands to deal with Google as it is, since their numbers lag so far behind Google in search traffic. It seems Google is the only one that can mess up Google at this time. They have to make a big mistake in order to lose their number on position.
Yet, if MS buys Yahoo it will still be their best chance at getting the number one position in paid search. It still won’t be easy though.