The underdog makes a move
It's not often we hear about Microsoft being the underdog. Microsoft dominates with a 95% share of the operating system market, a 75% share of internet browser use and somewhere around a 95% share of the "Office Suite" market.
Of course, the big area that Microsoft does not dominate is in the paid search business. Google has a 69% share, Yahoo is at 15% and Microsoft is at 10%. We all know about Microsoft trying to buy Yahoo over the past 2 months. Microsoft saw an opportunity to increase their market share of this very profitable business to more than 25%. Still a far cry from Google's 69% share.
One of the biggest criticisms of Google's paid search is that you pay Google for every "click" regardless of whether the consumer buys or not. Ultimately it doesn't matter since Google is so dominant. You have to work with them whether you like it or not.
Microsoft recently announced a new paid search opportunity for consumers. Currently only available in the US, Microsoft will now be paying consumers to use their Live Search engine to buy products. When you search a product, you will have the choice of seeing online stores that have partnered with Microsoft. When you click on the link, you will see price comparisons as well as a percentage off of the price by purchasing through Live Search. In my test, discounts ranged from 3% to 9% for a Canon Digital Camera.
Will it work? Some think Microsoft's Live Search is far superior to Google's when it comes to products. Online retailers will like the idea of paying for purchases, not just for clicks.
Perhaps this will give a boost to the underdog in the online paid search war...
