RSSMicrosoft Wants More Search Share
By Tim Conneally | Published October 27, 2006, 1:58 PM
In an effort to win back some search market share from rivals Google and Yahoo, Microsoft on Friday kicked off a nationwide advertising campaign designed to spread the word about the recently launched Windows Live Search.
Currently positioned in third place, Microsoft has a lot of ground to make up and the company is making no qualms about the fact that it's delayed arrival has set it back. In a September interview with BetaNews, Live.com senior product manager Justin Osmer said coming in third isn't bad, but added Microsoft wants to grow.
Indeed, search share is of critical importance if Microsoft wants to establish Windows Live as a viable revenue source. The company's online division has been the least profitable over the last several quarters, while Google has become the de facto standard when it comes to search advertising, which makes up the bulk of its revenue.
This means Microsoft has to acquire eyeballs, and with Google's share now estimated at 60.2%, #2 Yahoo's share at 22.5% and Microsoft splitting the rest with "Other," according to Internet media analyst firm Hitwise, the Redmond company has a long way to go. Advertisers track performance in terms of overall reach, so the terms "distant third" can be a serious turn-off.
"We believe the search business is still in its infancy, and we’re upping our game with cutting edge features like best of breed Local and Image search, along with practical tools that give people more control to help them better find what they’re searching for," a company spokesperson told BetaNews.
On Friday, Microsoft bought up advertising space online and in print across a range of newspapers. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, Seattle P-I, and San Jose Mercury News are among those feature the full-page ad.
"Before we begin, let us state the obvious. We’re late to the game. We admit it. But instead of shrugging our shoulders and becoming a footnote in search history, we’ve decided to write a few new chapters. Because, quite frankly, it’s just the beginning. In fact, 7 million new pages are added to the Internet every day," the ad reads.
The humble text follows a banner headline of: "Why on earth does the world need another search engine." The advertisement also mentions a number of Windows Live-specific features, such as the Slide Bar for simplifying search results and an image hover for previewing pictures.
"We don't watch the same TVs we watched 40 years ago and we certainly don't use the same PCs we did 20 years ago," Microsoft says. "The point is, there's a lot of innovating left to be done. We’re in this for the long haul - search is just a baby in the technology schoolyard and it can only get better. So is Live Search a step in that direction? That’s for you to decide."
Only time will tell whether Microsoft can win back users, but it's clear the company is prepared to do what it takes. It hopes to increase ad sales fourfold over the next thee years. Microsoft recently rolled out an online advertising platform to make this happen, and is continuing to launch new Windows Live services.
aaa crap, they just showed a live.com commercial on Sci Fi. That's just wrong.
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|Yeah MS innovating once again. For example by stealing the "answers.yahoo.com" concept.
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|how many ppl here use IE ?.
and we all know the market share of IE.
and also remember the market share of AIM.
If sooo many ppl can use IE and AIM i dont believe that it will be that hard to make them use Live search and i think it is not THAT bad.
And Microsoft is known to make ppl (not most of use in ere) use their stuff one way or another.
From here Live.com can only gain market share.
But i know one thing for sure that no matter how hard to try but they (Yahoo Ask and Microsoft) will have to waste more electricity than Google.
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|Eventually microsoft will become the sony of the world making everything and anything. Soon you will find dishwashers and cars and heck maybe even forkcliffs. AS for their search whatever is open and microsoft can't control they lose typically. Unless of course they get a break, like with the ps3. I have no doubt they will conquor the search market someday or even the mp3 market.
The only innovative thing they had for live.com is back in beta when they had that scroll window so you didn't have to click new pages, it just kept scrolling. But like anything that they actually make that is new it sucks. It was slow, buggy and its no wonder they removed it, but it was an original idea.
But it will be years away and it will be when those companies royally screw up. The sad thing is that live search is almost an exact clone of google. I mean its sad, but that is the microsoft we have all come to love to hate.
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|Eventually microsoft will become the sony of the world making everything and anything. Soon you will find dishwashers and cars and heck maybe even forkcliffs. AS for their search whatever is open and microsoft can't control they lose typically. Unless of course they get a break, like with the ps3. I have no doubt they will conquor the search market someday or even the mp3 market.
But it will be years away and it will be when those companies royally screw up. The sad thing is that live search is almost an exact clone of google. I mean its sad, but that is the microsoft we have all come to love to hate.
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|If they want more search share they need to clean up that gaudy, bloated interface that takes forever to load results even on my direct university connection to the LambdaRail...
The whole point of a search is to find what you're looking for... fast.
Thanks guys.
**EDIT**
Ok... I haven't tried it in a while. I just did again. It's gotten a lot faster, but it's still relatively slow to me. I'm used to Google speed, and IMO there's still no comparison between the two.
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|Also in the news "The Sky is Blue"
and "The Sun Rises in East"
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|LOL. Thank you for my first really good laugh of the day. I must have laughed for five minutes. You are so right about this headline.
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|Maybe it's just me but I don't think Microsoft needs anymore of anything.
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|Yeah... they don't really need anything. They just want it. =p
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|Are Microsoft really Naieve? Google did not get where they are from fancy advertising, they got there, because they had the best search techology, and they still have.
Microsoft Live Search still sucks as bad as MSN, and no amount of glossy advertising campaigns will change that.
They should have bought google, whilst they could still afford them, but that's no longer an option..
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|Hey Mark, when is the last time you used MS search? There are many things it does very well and it just as often provides very relevant information that other engines do not. Microsoft has every right to develop their search technologies, build their new big data centers and advertise to their heart's content. Seems to me that many of you who have complained that Microsoft only succeeds by stifling competition have a double standard. Google is the behemoth and competition is good.
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|I try it, every time Microsoft claim to be new and improved.
However each time, I still find that the results it throws back are very "US Centric".
Google obviously have regional weightings in the results, as even searches on Google.com seem to vary depending on where you are in the world (IP ranges I assume). I tested this going through a proxy, and got VASTLY different search results.
Not being American, large swathes of Live Search results are irevellent..
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|I want a lot of things too
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|Wow competitive to the last. I like it when companies show honesty and enthusiasm to innovate rather than just find something that works and relying on peoples needs to make it last forever. Innovative is good! I hope all goes well. I'm getting a bit tired of the google cliche anyway, I can admit that.
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|I think a large problem for Microsoft in the online market is their image. They attach lengthy names to products that are unappealing ... 'Windows Live Search' ... wtf? It's searching the Internet, and it's not really Live as the data has been cached... unless I'm missing something and the pages involved in the search are checked for updates upon search request...
This being said - Microsoft's angle that they are the underdog who is coming in to innovative is disgusting. Live.com's offerings are progressive copies of Google's technology with embellishments that often times complicate the site and in features like their mapping software, slow down machines.
Microsoft's advertisements make me sick when they are being competitive... because in reality, while there may be 7 million new pages added to the Internet every day, Yahoo! and Google probably have those stats in their offices too. What on earth is the point of throwing out a statistic for no real reason? Perhaps Microsoft is trying to flood televisions with marketing and try to convince viewers that they are offering something new, thus increasing their usership by advertising and not by merit.
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|Everyone I know now talks about "googling" for information... not Windows Live Searching for information! ;-)
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|i tell people to windows live search instead of google it...it's going to start and just steam roll. Just keep in mind who's newer and who's older (in terms of this whole search thing). That and of course google has a lot of spam driven rank slots. (which everybody falls to eventually)
It will eventually all sort of even out anyway.
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|yes and everyone asks for a Kleenex but I doubt that Kleenex has the kind of market share that Google currently does. Soon Googling will just mean searching to most people and they will use whatever search tool they like. To be naive enough to believe that 10 years from now the market shares for search will be the same given the continued growth of the internet is a bit unrealistic. While MS may not dominate Google, they will certainly serve thier shareholders well with thier investment and yes, innovations, in search technology. To believe that all the smart people in search work at Google is also far from the mark.
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|"i tell people to windows live search instead of google it"
Don't you get tired of having people laugh at you?
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|LOL. You are too hilarious, and I agree, probably at least get odd stares and raised eyebrows.
Just like people ask for Kleenex and make Xerox copies, even if Google is no longer the leader, years from now the majority will use Google to mean do an internet search using whatever search engine you want. Google was the first to do it better, and had a catchy name to boot. The name will last. The name "Windows Live Search" sounds neither innovative nor catchy. It's too much to say. Why do you think Ask Jeeves went to just Ask. It may not sound innovative but it's no mouthful.
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|Just like everyone calls *any* MP3 player they see an "iPod."
That one really annoys me though...
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|how about Micr00gle, or Ask Bill, or Microhoo, WaldoFinder, Microfound, ROFLfind, LOLLERSEARCH, LMAOfound, MSearch, or Search'n'Crash, WTFanswerer?
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|wait wait I got one... WWW.tf.com = WhoWhenWhere.theF*ck.com
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|MP3 player? Don't you mean PMP? Personal Music Player
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|No. Because you say that to someone (even on this site), and they have no idea what you're talking about. You're point is right though. Even MP3 player is an abstracted name from what it really is. It will almost always play other audio formats.
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|Thank god they aren't called M4U players!
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|because "windows" have brand recognition, duh.
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