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New MSN Search Launches Today
The New MSN Search launched today. Some at Microsoft have essentially declared war on Google. Bill Gates has called it "hypercompetition."
So where do we at Ciceron stand? I have a couple of thoughts. First, we were in the beta test group and think quite highly of the backend ad management toolsuite Microsoft has offered agencies. But like most things Microsoft, we're in the ugly post-launch stage where they're notorious for launching buggy products in the e-ecosystem essentially to have us find the flaws in the real world.
That said, I think it still may be better to jump into the program sooner rather than later for two reasons: Microsoft will pump millions of ad and marketing dollars into driving traffic and converting customers from Google and Yahoo. As a search advertiser, that's free traffic generated by Microsoft. I imagine for a while consumers will test MSN themselves against Google and Yahoo. This means that Microsoft is actually sharing marketshare with the others for an undetermined period of time until the dust settles.
Another reason to get in sooner rather than later is to preempt the price wars which will undoubtedly ensue on paid listings. Price inflation is a huge problem as keywords which once held a good ROI are becoming increasingly less attractive. Think of MSN as fresh new financial territory.
The war is on!
Posted by Andrew at May 04, 2006Web Results eNewsletter
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