Interactive Marketing, Web Design & Development Newsletter

The State of Search

So Microsoft's new search engine, BING, was launched last summer. It's the 3rd major attempt by the digital giant to stake its claim in the search world. How's BING doing?

Pretty well actually. It's the most successful attempt I've seen. However, let's be clear, Google still owns search and I suspect they will for a very long time. Early results when the engine was released showed a bump in use. That's come down a bit; however, it's not in the free fall that the previous Microsoft engine (Live) was.

We have several clients that advertise in BING. Conversion and cost of ad spend results were very good in BING over the 2009 Holiday season and in several cases kept pace with Google campaigns. So BING is still alive and kicking and worth keeping a watchful eye over.

BING and Yahoo Form a Search Alliance

BING and Yahoo recently received industry regulatory clearance to form a search alliance. This has significant implications if you advertise (Pay per Click or banner campaigns) in either engine.

This alliance will result in a search audience combined from the two engines. According to company Yahoo sources, it will increase your advertising campaign exposure by up to 62%.
Campaigns stretched across the two engines will be easier to manage once combined into one platform.
Yahoo's strength has traditionally been focused around content. Finding it, syndicating it, organizing it and delivering it. Microsoft's strength rests in underlying technology platforms. Combining the strengths of these two organizations could deliver powerful results and shake up the world of search quite a bit.
BING will remain as the underlying platform the alliance uses.
Scope of the alliance includes only their search products. Their email platforms, instant messaging and the like will remain separated.
Timing for the rollout of the alliance is end of 2010, just prior to the busy Holiday season. Should make for some rapid shuffling in an already busy time of the year for digital marketers.
The BEM Interactive digital marketing team is keeping a close eye on this development and will be reaching out to our digital marketing clients as details of the alliance unfold.

The Search Alliance is a good move on the part of BING and Yahoo. Perhaps by combining forces they will be able to offer some true competition to Google. Changing the world's search behavior is an arduous task and one I'm not confident that even these two goliaths will be able to accomplish. We'll keep you posted!

Malinda Pengelly
President

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