Microsoft gets to combine their search technology and highly touted adCenter platform with Yahoo’s large advertiser base and sales team.  Yahoo has lacked strategic direction for a number of years and now may finally move on in their competition with Google now that Microsoft is a partner.  Bing has a nice interface, and by utilizing its “powered by Bing” notation for search results on Yahoo and its partner sites, represents a real option for Googlers.

It does remain to be seen if Yahoo/Bing will be able to make inroads into future marketshare.  Depending on what you read, Google currently has between a 75-85% share-of-voice.  No matter what technology is in place, the bottom-line for consumers is search results, and options to filter those results.  Google has prevailed in this regard, and has stayed on the forefront with maps, video search, and local search.

Nevertheless, advertisers can win here, because Yahoo/Bing offer less competitive ads with regard to the sponsored link ads. Cost-per-clicks generally are less than Google, and because there’s less competition, ad click-thru rates can be better than Google’s.  The scenario evidently becomes a media buying dilemma- buy Google for reach; buy Yahoo/Bing for efficiency.  Depending on client budgets; the optimal media plans should combine both.  Think of it like Philadelphia radio.  KYW 1060 has high reach, but you pay for that reach.  Big Talker 1210 has a much smaller audience, but is priced more efficiently.  Many advertisers buy both stations.

In the meantime, I would imagine that during the time it takes for the merger to be approved by the government regulators and the Yahoo to Microsoft adCenter transition (perhaps over a year!), Google will add more features and continue to improve search results. Doncha love competition!

Paul Mosenson

OK I think we’ve been through this before and quite a few other variations, many by the same company. We’ve seen Microsoft complain about Google, seemingly pissy that they didn’t do it themselves and have poured a great deal of resources into the battle which includes the great failure of rebranding themselves to “Live” without much impact (which included a bit of a browser monopoly so that means it really stunk).

It also reminds me of Ask.com. If you recall all those TV ads, extensive online advertising campaigns, publicity ad infinitum, interface reinvention (which I still find quite nice) but again, with little impact. Only lately, have we started to see a little climb in popularity, I just wish they would improve their results and we’d have something.

And what do we recall of Google’s inception? Big budget advertising campaign? Probably not. They relied on a solid product. So I’m pretty sure that Bing is going to have to be amazing if we are to see people switching search engine preference and am fairly certain that the $100 million spend will not see much of a return.

To me, this is looking like more of the same but I’m ready to be dazzled. Bing it on.

Cheers – Paul

Paul Fleming is co-founder and VP of Interactive Services for Dinkum Interactive. A trained teacher, Paul has worked in a variety of forms of Internet Marketing but with a focus on SEO. Originally from Australia, he now resides in Philadelphia with his wife and 2 ankle-biters.