Bing, Bong Yahoo Search Is Dead!
The on again, off again business relationship between Microsoft and Yahoo appears to be on again once more, perhaps finally heading to some sort of completion by early next year. No, unlike as had been proposed in the past, the two companies will not merge. Instead, Bing will become the search engine for Yahoo (as it is for Microsoft) while Yahoo Publisher Network ads will appear on search requests on its site while also retaining the right to sell ads on some Microsoft sites.
Microsoft Wins Big
Microsoft clearly comes out ahead in this ten year business agreement as the technology company doesn’t have to fork over any cash to complete the deal as Yahoo once hoped would happen. Even though it has only been in operation for two months, Bing has received high marks as a search engine and is considered to be better than Yahoo Search which currently controls 20% of the US search market, well behind first place Google Search who has 65%. By replacing Yahoo Search, Bing will suddenly have 28% of the market, positioning itself to chip away at Google market share.
Since it got started, Bing has been grabbing market share from Yahoo, not Google. At the same time, Google’s share has been increasing at the expense of Yahoo, not Bing. Getting squeezed from both sides, Yahoo probably figured that Bing would one day eventually pass Yahoo Search so why not monetize the situation in exchange for getting out?
Surrender, Yahoo Search!
In exchange for surrendering to Microsoft, Yahoo will get to keep 88% of revenue generated from all ads that run alongside search requests on its website for the first five years of the deal. In addition, Yahoo will have the right to sell search ads on as yet to be determined Microsoft sites. If Microsoft is smart, they’ll turn over the ad space for the unpopular Windows Vista microsite to Yahoo, the worst operating system in the world! Just kidding.
Yahoo has been rocked by bad management decisions and an unfortunate economy, turning down a bid a few years back to sell itself to Microsoft for $47.5 billion. With a current value of $22 billion, Yahoo is struggling to find its place on the internet, steadily falling behind Google and struggling with its stock which is trading at just over $15 a share. You have to wonder if some Yahoo heads will roll over the deal too as Bing absorbs what was once the number two search engine.
Sources: TechCrunch, Microsoft, Yahoo
See Also — Bada BING, Bada Boom: Microsoft’s New Search Engine Emerges
Tags: Bing, Google, Google Search, Microsoft, Yahoo search, Yahoo!
Reference, Technology | Matthew C. Keegan, 30 Jul 09
By LarryJackson, July 30, 2009 @ 5:43 am
It looks to me like the search engine competition just went from three to two competitors. Personally, I don’t think Bing or Yahoo or whatever they call it is ever going to be able to compete with Google. Google is much more accurate with it’s results and no other search engine seems to be able to come close to them. That’s why Google has 67% of the market and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get more.
The irony of the situation is how Microsoft is putting out statements that extol the agreement as one that will give consumers more choice. They certainly were not thinking about consumer choice when they hard coded Internet Explorer into the Windows operating system.
.-= LarryJackson´s last blog ..Microsoft and Yahoo to take on Google =-.
By Matt Keegan, July 30, 2009 @ 5:46 am
Choice? You got that right, Larry. Microsoft’s definition of choice is Windows or nothing. And, with Bing combining with Yahoo Search, consumers will choose either that or Google Search.
Mind you, Google Search is dominate so there really hasn’t been much competition to speak of. I like Bing as an alternative to Google Search, but the lion’s share of my searches are still with the Big G.
.-= Matt Keegan´s last blog ..Smart Ways To Enact Real Health Care Reform =-.
By chris, July 30, 2009 @ 9:33 am
Bing and Yahoo Two Crap Search engines Don’t make one Good one I am Sticking with Google.
.-= chris´s last blog ..Use Space to Save your Face,Storing Pictures Online =-.
By Karl Foxley, July 30, 2009 @ 5:41 pm
I like Bing but it just isn’t Google. I’ll be watching the development of this very closely but I can’t see people shifting away from the big G in any hurry.
Karl
By nour, August 5, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
its like a search engine competetion and now microsoft came in this domain and wins bing oh wow the competetion will be on fire but i thinks google wins because this year with even there was the international problem you know google made more money then the last year actually google is the best but i think microsoft will not agree about that and will force google
By Matthew C. Keegan, August 20, 2009 @ 4:59 pm
@Chris — I hear you! Google rules, while the other two have a lot to work on.
@Karl — I’m staying with the Big G. I like Bing for fun, but when it comes to serious search, my money is with Google.
@nour — Google rules in the US as well as overseas. They are dominate and it will take some might mistakes on their part if they’ll ever cede marketshare to Microsoft. I just don’t see that happening.
By Roy Hunter, September 13, 2009 @ 10:59 am
I dont know guys…. From a developers perspective and small business marketing professional, Google has some very distinct flaws. It is starting to heavily monetize its organic search results with directories like merchant circle, linkedin, prweb, yellowpages, superpages etc. Often in competitive search terms the first ten results are of these companies that have a financial relationship with Google. Are those results relevant to my search? Not when a directory shows up for a local search and there are no local businesses advertising with that directory. The only reason my company is #1 in our primary search term is a relationship I have with merchant circle but my organic result for my actual website that has 100X the content of what is posted on merchant circle ranks #18. So if you are searching for relevancy are google’s searches more relevant due to paid placement? I think not. I am very happy with bing because organic results are organic results. Google needs to stop favoring these directories that pay them for better ranking so they can sell their ads and let organic be organic and sponsored be sponsored.
My company consistently ranks higher in Bing. When bing becomes 28% of the market I will focus on making Bing happy because even with that limited market share I will be seen by more people because I am on the first page across the board for all my keyword search terms. If 80% of my customers are coming from a search engine that has 30% of the market, why should I focus on making Google happy? As a marketing consultant I can only take on so much work so growth is not important, a constant flow of customers is.
My point is this: It takes a lot of time to do what is needed to rank well in search results with Google. I do nothing for Bing and since it has been live I have had a lot more business because I rank better in Bing results. If I do not spend the time to make Google happy, my content that is the most relevant for search results will not be in Google’s search results. People will switch to bing because its results are more relevant due to the fact its results are not filled with all this directory garbage that I am competing with in Google.
My time is better spent getting paid for it than participating in Google’s dog and pony show to get ranked well in it’s search results and I certainly am not going to pay all these directories what would amount to $700-$1000 a month to have the same placement I am getting from Bing for free. Our website is fantastic, error free, and SEO’d to the hilt but because we do not have a lot of PR7 links pointing to us and our domain is not very old we suffer in Google…
But we are a great company that does a great job and our content is fantastic…. Where is the logic?
Bing is taking market share from Google because I went from using Google to using Bing and I am sure I am not they only one. I support Bing and I will continue to do so and that is the viral marketing Bing is starting to get. Bing is a search engine, Google is becoming a paid directory.
.-= Roy Hunter´s last blog ..Internet Copywriting: Writing Website Copy, Part Two =-.
By Matthew C. Keegan, September 14, 2009 @ 7:19 am
Roy, I am glad that you have found Bing to be so beneficial. I, too, have discovered that a growing number of my visitors are coming from Bing. In addition, quite a few pages are performing rather well in Bing SERPs, therefore I’m thrilled to see those good results as well.
A lot has changed since I first wrote this article, so I am sure we’ll all be discovering that Bing has benefits not realized with Google search. I like the idea of maximizing your Bing presence while not being concerned about Google. I think there is room for this — if you perform very well with Bing, then how you do with Google won’t matter. You’ll carve out a niche with Bing, which will only grow greater when Bing replaces Yahoo search.