Google DoubleClick Hearing: New World vs Old

There is the transcript of the statement made by David Drummond, Chief Legal Officer, Google on the proposed acquisition of DoubleClick by Google (GOOG).

It explains in simple english Google's existing online advertising business and DoubleClick's display ad technology and business.

David went on to say that "Google’s business model has focused on what’s known as the “long tail” of the Internet – the millions of individuals and small businesses that cater to niche interests and markets. We lower the barrier to entry for these small publishers and advertisers, and we match them up with users who are interested in what they have to say or sell."

There is the statement made by the opposing party Brad Smith, SVP & General Counsel, Microsoft.

Smith said, "While there are millions of web sites and advertisers on the Internet, there are actually a very small number of “intermediaries” that provide the tools and services that connect them. If you are a web site and want to sell ad space on your site, or if you are an advertiser who wants to display your ads online, you have to work with them or one of their intermediaries."

Out Googled: What Is Your Google Strategy

Out Googled is a period series covering the strategies of companies and even entire industries to counter the enterance of Google (GOOG) in to their domain.

At its core Google is search and advertising, however the company has many tentacles and its looming presence can be felt in many areas such as;
- online applications
- mobile & telephony
- ecommerce & content
- social networking
- gaming & virtual worlds
- hosting services
- measurement & analysis
- publishing & broadcast
- space technology

Google is rapidly moving into new markets and reshaping existing industries. As long as there is a web component to a product, given its sheer reach and power, Google is possibly better positioned to serve the needs of the 6 billion plus addressable market for web based products independent of platform.

So what is your Google strategy? Send us your story.

Baidu Launches Online Video Ads

Baidu, has launched "Baidu TV", an online video advertising service, expecting it to be a new profit driver to help widen the gap with its rivals, Chinese versions of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO).

Baidu TV is the result of a partnership between Baidu and Ads it! Media Corporation, a Chinese online video advertising platform provider.

Baidu will provide advertisers access to about 160,000 domestic websites under the Baidu Union, where they can post online video ads.

Ads it! mainly deals in advertising-related technical and marketing issues.

"Baidu has been dedicated to developing its core business by maximizing its customer resources ... Baidu TV is a logical step in that direction," said Shen Haoyu, Baidu vice-president, business operations.

Baidu's revenue mainly relies on text ads, but this is "far from enough, and it should try to find more niche markets to fuel growth", said Tian Xin, search engine analyst with iResearch Consulting Group.

Yahoo's Casualties in Search War

Semel maybe out but so are 10 of Yahoo's 26 executives (see then and now). A 40% turnover in executive management in one year is pretty high. I guess the battle against Google is taking its toll. Semel, who didn't know what email was before he arrived at Yahoo has left behind a trail of destruction. The vacancies are being filled by Susan Deckers' friends according to sources. Susan, who takes over as President of Yahoo, is famous for saying that "Yahoo's goal is not to be number one in search". Besides losing all this "talent" in a short time, the company is losing millions in severance compensation. Several employees said that Farzeed Nazem, CTO, spent more time filing papers with the SEC over stock options purchases and sales during his 11 year hibernation. The WSJ says it reinforces doubts about Panama when the guy overseeing the global rollout leaves smack in the middle of it. A senior Yahooligan (Yahoo employee) described Panama as larger than the Titanic and that it will help Yahoo capture more search advertising dollars.

Here is the list of executives jumping ship:
Terry Semel, CEO
Susan Decker, CFO
Lars Rabbe, CIO
Dan Rosensweig, COO
Farzeed Nazem, CTO
Chris Castro, CCO
Lloyd Braun, President, Yahoo! Media
John Marcom, VP International, Yahoo!
Phu Hoang, VP Engineering
Daniel Finnigan, VP Classifieds

At the annual shareholder meeting Jerry Yang had nothing to say about Yahoo's business but human rights. Yesterday, he released a statement saying "Terry has given Yahoo! six of its best years".

Yahoo, hosting the Titanic party at its campus in Sunnyvale, CA.

Yahoo Focused On The Past

Angry shareholders voted down proposals to tie executive pay to competitive performance and challenged the company's human rights policies in China at their annual meeting. The meeting was focused on the past three years and a little about the how the company intends to respond to Google's growing dominance.

"I am going to sell all my shares!" said Dotty Webber of Sunnyvale, CA. "He was talking about macaroni and cheese and how people like to eat it. There was nothing about their internet strategy. I went to the Google meeting and Eric Schmidt talked about how Google plans to help the world with the internet."

There was very little said about search, online advertising or Panama. Little to no mention about the acquisitions such as RightMedia or inroads Microsoft is making. No mention about the growing influence of MySpace among brand advertisers or the lock YouTube has on online video. "I don't see much change going forward, the performance of the past three years is set to repeat itself", said Eric Jackson, President, Jackson Leadership Systems. Jackson is a shareholder activist and has a even launched a campaign on YouTube against Terry Semel.

There was more talk about the human rights violations in China and Yahoo's efforts to change that. "They see this as a problem and are looking into it", said Patrick Doherty, Comptroller, The City of New York. A memorandum was issued outlining Jerry Yang's view on human rights to all.

"Search Is History", says Yahoo!

As the company realizes that it can no longer compete with Google, it is saying the future of web search is history. Yahoo says the model for getting information via the browser is outdated. In the future relevant information will be delivered directly to readers. "The future of the web is about personalization. Where search was dominant, now the web is about 'me.' It's about weaving the web together in a way that is smart and personalized for the user," said Tapan Bhat, VP, Yahoo!'s Personalised Home Page.

Interestingly, iGoogle is about personalization and Google has been making alot of noise of about it. Suddenly, it has become the core focus at Yahoo. Yahoo has been losing market share to Google in search and has been recasting itself as a company not focused on search. In fact Susan Decker, CFO, Yahoo has said previously that "Our goal is not to be number one is search". "They've realised they can't compete with Google on search." said Deborah Schultz, a Silicon Valley-based marketing consultant.

Search continues to gain wider adoption as an enabler for online commerce and soon may become the platform for commerce. Billions of dollar are being channeled into search as major marketers and brand advertisers see the efficiency of the medium. The river of money is finding its way mostly to Google. In fact the company does more in reveune in a single quarter than Yahoo does in a year. The entire Searchnomics conference is focused on the importance of search to web sites and online businesses.


On Tuesday June 12, 2007, Yahoo holds it annual shareholder meeting. Yahoo's Terry Semel was the highest paid CEO in 2006, with total compensation of $71.7 million, according to the AP. That is two times more than the $27 million in total compensation for the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, baseball's highest-paid player, and higher than the typical pay A-list stars like Brad Pitt who earn $20 million a movie, plus 20 percent of the gross box office take.

There is even talk that Microsoft may buy the company. That would give Semel a graceful exit. However, the word is that the company is not attractive enough to any single major buyer to advance their product line, not at that price. Jeff Clavier, a venture capitalist at SoftTech, said: "The problem with Yahoo! is that they're trying to be all things to all people but they don't do any one thing particularly well."

All this is making investors, partners and customers very nervous. Several advertisers and partners are moving to Google; Friendster, a social networking site, moved to Google from Yahoo to better monetize its user base with Google's larger ad platform and deeper inventory. If this trend continues, Yahoo maybe history before search is.

Yahoo CFO Out: Goal Not To Be No. 1 In Search

Susan Decker, the former CFO of Yahoo has been replaced by Blake Jorgensen. He will begin his new job on June 4, 2007. Susan was famous for saying that "It's not our goal to be No. 1 in Internet search." and that is precisely the plan the company has been sticking to. Here is the press release from Yahoo.

Yahoo Auctions & Yahoo Photos To Shut Down

Yahoo has told users it will shut down its auction site in U.S. and Canada. This is the second service the Yahoo is shutting this month.

Yahoo posted a message on it website saying the service will no longer accept new auction lists from June 3. The last day to bid or buy goods and services on the auction site is June 16.

On Friday, Jeff Weiner, executive vice president of Yahoo's Network Division, said in a company statement: "We are making great strides in our ongoing efforts to align Yahoo's resources and focus on core strategic priorities."

According to audience measurement firm comScore Inc., online auction leader eBay Inc. accounted for more than 94 percent of online auctions activity among U.S. Web users last week. Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc.'s U.S. auction site accounted for one-third of a percentage point, while Yahoo's auctions held only an 0.2 percent share.

"It comes with little surprise given Yahoo's advertising relationship with eBay, and eBay's massive dominance of the auction category," Hitwise research director LeeAnn Prescott wrote in a blog post.

A year ago, eBay and Yahoo announced a strategic alliance to cooperate on a range of services in their core U.S markets.

Sir Martin Says Google Is Frienemy

I was at "The Future of Advertising Conference" at Stanford and Sir Martin Sorrell, Chairman, WPP, the largest advertising holding company shared some interesting stats about the advertising business.

1. WPP has a market share of approximately 25% of the global ad business, annual billings of $60 Billion and yet only $200 M of that is with Google.
2. Google's revenues are approximately $11 Billion and at $200 M, WPP is one of Google's largest customers. So Google's tail is very very long and they are just getting started.
3. He went on to say that Google is a FRIENEMY - Google is your friend in the short term and enemy in the long term. His reasoning was Google wants access to large advertising account, that they do not have relationships with and that is where the friendship begins.
4. There was little mention of Microsoft or Yahoo and it understandable as their respective foot prints in this space is still considered baby steps.

On May 16, 2007, the WebGuild will be having an event of The Future of Online Advertising with all the heavy weights including Google. The panel will share insight into the future of online advertising from several perspectives of paramount importance to web professionals, seos, sems or search engine marketers, web analytics professionals, online merchants, venture capitals, entrepreneurs and anyone that uses a website to acquire customers, service customers or monetize customers. There are still a few spots left. If you miss this then there is always Searchnomics, which delves deep into search advertising and search & marketplaces and must attend for all web professinal.

In Search of Traffic

Today's Wall Street Journal has an article on why website owners need to harness the power of Search Engines and deploy SEM and SEO strategies to find customers.

Search engines like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are often shoppers' first stops when they're looking for a product on the Web and thus it is crucial for websites to show up prominently in search-engine results.

The is the focus of the upcoming Searchnomics 2007 Conference aimed at web and internet marketing professionals. Search has become the enabler for business. It is the most efficient medium connecting business and customers. Searchnomics is where the leaders of the search industry meet to share cutting-edge knowledge, best practices, and trends in:

• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Design and Development
• Branding and Promotion
• Web Analytics
• New Innovations and Opportunites

The article is only available via paid subscription. Here is the link http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117769688676085058.html?mod=wsj_right_click

Ask.com to launch contextual ad platform

Ask.com is getting ready to launch a new advertising platform for contextual ads some time next month. The offering will debut with other IAC (Ask.com's parent company) properties such as TicketMaster.com, Match.com and Evite before rolling out to non-IAC-owned sites.

The contextual ad product will be a feature of the current sponsored listings service offered by Ask.com. The service will provide marketers a customized ad display with placement options for ad display, relevancy and pricing. Advertisers will also have reporting tools and referrer blocking.

Contextually relevant ads have a better chance of appealing to users than random ads that simply pop up on a webpage. This is another way Ask.com to monetize the traffic on IAC properties.

Search Engine Awards Launched to Recognize Industry Leadership

There is now an award for the best search engine web site. This is the very first award of its kind to recognize leadership, outstanding achievement, and innovation in the search engine industry.

Entry is open to all search engine websites and there is no cost for participation. The winners will be decided by a panel of judges comprised of industry professionals and nominations received for each search website. Search engines websites are encouraged to have their users vote for their favorite search engine website.

To submit your entry please visit http://www.webguild.org/meetings/2007/searchnomics/search_awards.php.

For more information vist http://www.sys-con.com/read/367042.htm.

Google's New Search Page on IE

I rarely use Microsoft IE, so today when I searched using IE the Google search results page on IE was different to the search results page on Firefox. I guess Google is doing a browser detect and displaying different looks on the different browsers. I would like to hear everyone comments on this.

Google search results on IE



Google search results on Firefox

Google DoubleClick

Google has announced its intention to acquire DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. On March 29, 2007, I wrote that DoubleClick and Performics were being shopped and that Microsoft was one of the suitors. I also said that Microsoft would not end up buying DoubleClick and that it would be a better fit for Google.

Google's is the leader in search advertising. DoubleClick the leader in display ads. Display advertising accounts for almost half of the online ad market. Via a DoubleClick acquisition Google would become a dominant player in display ads and extend its reach with advertisers, ad networks, agencies and publishers.

Also, Google would gain key capabilities in the production, brokering and distribution of online ads. DoubleClick brings a network that runs ads across multiple advertising venues, such as AOL and Yahoo, providing Google with deep penetration into the overall online advertising market.

Google reported "Our goal is to make advertising on the internet work better: better for users with less intrusive ads and better privacy protection, better for advertisers with greater accountability and effectiveness, and better for publishers with improved monetization and cleaner site integration."

Google Voice Search

Voice will be a key piece of mobile search and thus Google has launched an initiative to enable users them to find information about local businesses, driving directions, sports scores, stock quotes, weather, news, movie show times, and more via their phone.

Google Voice Search currently in beta allows users to call a number and specify a search query and get the results on a web page read back to them (that match the specified query). To try the service dial 650.623.6706.

Voice will play an important roll in the rapidly growing local search market. I believe Google will integrate Voice and Maps into its Local Search offering. Thus it will be another way for user for search and locate information.

Voice has been used extensively as an automated directory assistance feature by companies such as Fedex, Cingular/AT&T, American Airlines, American Express and other large companies to handle customer requests. The difference here being, voice is used as a way for users/searchers to get actionable information at their finger tips.

Recently, Microsoft bought TellMe for the very same reason. Microsoft believes that the battle to win the hearts and minds of searchers is going to be mobile and local search, and that Tellme has what it needs to win. However, Tellme's service is call center automation solution. It simply uses voice to as the executable to handle customer traffic in a call center. This is different from utiliting voice as the executable to search web pages. Sure, TellMe can be retooled to read web pages but that is not worth paying $800M plus. So in fact Microsoft is in the call center automation business and not mobile search. I know because I had a start up in the internet voice search way back when it was not sexy.

Google coming to a TV near you!

Google is entering the $65 billion U.S. TV-as-sales market. Google has announced the creation of an automated platform for ads running on EchoStar DISH Network's 125 networks. Google will gain access to DISH ad inventory from across all channels and dayparts; Google's platform will then allow it to sell that inventory and provide measurement on those buys.

The buying of DISH Network ads will work much like AdWords and use a web-based auction system. The real-time reporting allows advertisers to see how their ads performed on a second-by-second basis and adjust creative or daypart scheduling accordingly. Data will be pulled anonymously from the four million DISH boxes currently in use.

According to Google's CEO Eric Schmidt, this will allow for the ads delivered to be more relevant and therefore more valuable to the viewer and advertisers. Google will start by selling 30-second spots for broadcast networks, cable programmers and operators.

As part of the effort, Google is also launching a SpotRunner-esque program allowing advertisers to create TV ads on the fly. That toolset could attract some smaller companies that haven't tried TV advertising because of the high cost of creating those ads.

Advertisers can upload their TV commercials, bid on desired time and channel, and choose national area coverage. They can also choose to target by age demographic. The ads will be attached at the satellite operator level, not on the subscriber's set-top box.

The system is scheduled to start in May, and will sell ad space only on cable networks, including ESPN, CNN, Discovery, Lifetime, Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel. There are no national broadcast channels or local affiliates involved in the deal yet.

Television experts say the deal is a stepping stone to greater advertising control, but that Google really needs to sign an ad deal with one of the major cable networks, which are known for their ability to target ads sometimes as narrowly as neighborhood level.

Google is also reportedly planning to launch a marketplace that matches up marketers who don’t have experience creating ads with agencies that do.

Microsoft buys into Health Search

This is additive to my original post on Dr.Google. Microsoft today announced that it plans to acquire Medstory a California health search company in Google's backyard. What is Microsoft up to and can this translate into a meaningful advantage for Microsoft? I believe it could if integrated well. Medstory is back by some of silicon valley's savvy techrazzi. Microsoft's strategy is to integrate Medstory with the MSN constellation and present users searching for medical information a solution. Some of the biggest online advertisers per ad capita are drug companies. Older users are more likely to use this service and are more likely to have a higher incomes. Microsoft's strategy could be to get a foot hold into a small but very lucrative piece of the add pie and extend outwardly.

Check Out "Checkout"

Google Checkout icon will be updated to better image to the Google Checkout buttons used by merchants on their website. The new image will help shoppers to more easily identify Google Checkout merchants. It will also be appear on the shopping cart on ads in the Google advertising network.

Google Checkout helps users find convenient, secure places to shop through tight integration with AdWords, the advertisements on the Google search results pages. Merchants who decide to offer Google Checkout as a checkout option on their sites are identified by a shopping cart when their ads are displayed on Google.

Publishers Take Control FAST

FAST has introduced a new product called AdMomentum. AdMomentum provides, publishers with a private-label contextual advertising platform, eliminating the need for third-party services and enabling them to better monetize their content and serve their clients (advertisers).

AdMomentum is targeted at online media companies, retailers and telecommunications service providers. It enables them to better sell locally and nationally, to both their audiences and advertisers. Publishers can grow their revenues and reverse the tide of ad dollars that are going to third-party services.

“Publishers want to maintain control of their revenue, serving their advertisers and audiences more effectively, and this has been difficult to do with third-party platforms." said John M. Lervik, CEO of FAST.

“Online ad revenue drives the digital economy, and no one has a lock on that revenue stream today,” said Sue Feldman, IDC's Vice President for Search and Digital Marketplace Technologies. “Online advertising – particularly contextual advertising – continues to soar. IDC believes that large publishers and ad networks can seize a significant share of this revenue and AdMomentum provides this infrastructure for publishers to manage and monetize their online content. It's a digital marketplace in a box."

"Contextual advertising continues to drive the advertising economy, and publishers everywhere are looking for ways to deliver more qualified leads to their advertisers," said Stephen Baker, CEO of Search at Reed Business.

“To meet the needs of our customers, we have to meet the needs of their customers – the readers and advertisers that support their businesses,” said Dylan Fuller, Senior Product Director at FAST. “There’s a reason why contextual advertising has done so well with readers and advertisers, and now publishers will be able to make the experience even better. They know their customers better than anyone else, and with the right tools they can better serve them.”

New media getting more ad money

According to a study from the American Advertising Federation, as much as 73% of online marketers are reserving 20% of their ad budgets for new and emerging media. About 12% of those marketers say they reserve between 21% and 40% of their marketing budgets for new media.

Advertisers are betting on new mediums like television programs viewed over the internet, text messaging and social networking to be among the top categories. The study also indicates that marketers want new ways to use traditional media (78%), a balance of traditional and non-traditional media (75.5%) and increasing awareness of new media properties (57.7%) in order to remain competitive.

One surprising result from the study is that many of those polled believe traditional mediums are in need of a make-over. The respondents indicated that newspapers (51.4%), network television (34.5%), radio (33.8%) all needed to be overhauled to remain competitive with new media like social networking sites, online video and other consumer generated media.

Magazines are not exempt from the overhaul message that marketers are sending. According to the categories of business magazines (46%), women's service (25%), fashion and beauty (18.8%) and men's (17%) magazines are all in need of a make-over to remain competitive in today's market.

The WebGuild event on Feb 15, 2007 held at Google Headquarters examine Online Video: Revolutionizing Advertising & Marketing. The panelists will be;
YouTube Jordan Hoffner, Director, Worldwide Web Syndication, YouTube
AOL Timothy Tuttle, Vice President, AOL Video, AOL
Fox Todd Murtha, VP, Business Fox Interactive Media, Inc.
NBC John Saroff, Content Acquisition Leader, NBC
Moderated by
Daya Baran. Chief Gruuve, GRUUVE

SideStep Steps into $15 Million

Travel search engine SideStep said it raised $15 million in its Series C round, led by Norwest Venture Partners. "SideStep will use the funding to aggressively scale key areas of the business, while growing its leadership position in vertical search and building out its media and user-generated content offerings." To date, SideStep has raised approximately $32 million. Other competitors include Kayak which has raised $30 million.

Lately, Norwest, Charles River Ventures, WorldView and many other hardware oriented venture capitalists have been investing in consumer internet. This is the domain of seasoned pioneers like Ram Shriram of Google. Forbes calls him the man with the midas touch. Ram has many stellar successes to his name including Junglee which was acquired by Amazon and Netspace - in which he was a key player.

Norwest is an investor in Turn (the new CPA ad network), which wants to challenge Google Adsense. Turn is led by Jim Barnett. Jim Barnett sits on the board of SideStep.

Also, Norwest is an investor in Yatra, an India based travel search engine. Ram is an investor in ClearTrip.

It is yet to be seen if the new entrants can stay in the kitchen when it gets hot. After all the were the same folks asking Serge Brin and Larry Page, why another search engine was necessary when Yahoo and MSN existed. I am betting on the "clear" winner.

Google Earth gets Local

Google Earth will now incorporate local advertisements. The move will let advertisers place local ads in the form of map markers around the site as clickable links. Logos and contacts details will help users find the exact location of a certain business.

"If you've created Local Business Ads in you AdWords accounts, they'll now appear on Google Earth in addition to Google Maps," Google wrote in an email to customers.

"Advertising a hotel in Lake Louise? A neighbourhood cafe in Paris? Google Earth users across the globe can zoom in on your business. Don't forget to add a customised icon to make your ad stand out," the company added.

Google Earth was originally called Earth Viewer and was created by Keyhole. It is now available under three different licenses - Google Earth, Google Earth plus, and Google Earth Professional.

Google Earth, Google Local and Froogle will be a lethal combination for marketers. It will be a one stop ad purchasing and delivery system.

Krillion - Local Search

Brand search engine Krillion helps consumers find where they can buy products in their markets after conducting online research. Other companies that provide a similar service connecting online product research and offline buying are ShopLocal, StepUp, NearbyNow, Yokel, CNET, Become.com and data provider Channel Intelligence.

According to Michael Yang CEO Become.com online product research and offline buying is expected to be a multi-billion market by 2010. That tells me a smart version of Google Local and Froogle is on its way soon.

Best Search Websites 2007

Submit and rate your favorite search websites
Click here.

If you can't find the site you are looking for or if it is not on the list please submit it.

Rating Criteria
Accessibility:
Weak - contents are accessed by scrolling through site's pages
Acceptable - contents are made more accessible via a simple search engine or other finding aid
Strong - site incorporates its own search engine with sophisticated search capabilities

Content:
Weak - site consists primarily of links to other sites, some of which are broken or not useful
Acceptable - some unique material; links to other sites are annotated, up to date, and useful
Strong - contains material unique to this site; goes into sufficient depth for research purposes; is accurate and up to date

Authority:
Weak - site's creator is not identified or lacks the credentials or training to present material of value to serious researchers
Acceptable - site's creator is clearly identified and can reasonably claim the authority to present research quality material
Strong - individual or organization maintaining site is recognized as an authority in this subject area

Navigation:
Weak - site is not organized into manageable segments or is confusing to navigate
Acceptable - site is well organized and navigation is clear and consistent
Strong - material is presented in manageable units; access to contents is logical and intuitive

Design:
Weak - site is bland or else so loaded with graphics and features that it is torture to wait for the connection
Acceptable - graphics contribute to the material being presented and enhance the aesthetics of the site
Strong - site loads quickly when initial connection is made; graphics are well-integrated into the design

Accessibility:
Weak - contents are accessed by scrolling through site's pages
Acceptable - contents are made more accessible via a simple search engine or other finding aid
Strong - site incorporates its own search engine with sophisticated search capabilities

IAC's Ask wants to be Google

IAC's Ask.com wants to be Google, at least for its sister properties such as Ticketmaster, Match.com, ServiceMagic etc. Given the success of Google, who doesn't want to be Google.

IAC provides Ask.com with a unique advantage to provide it sister
properties with search results. IAC's properties are some of the
fastest growing and most recognized brands on the internet.

Like MSN?
The cornerstone of the IAC strategy is to lock down its home territorry
using Ask.com and grow externally using their internal advantage. I
think this is similar to MSN's strategy. MSN has invested heavy in
search however commands less that 10% of the market. Even Yahoo! has
not made much head way.

Is it Search or Linking?
For example, a user searching for tickets on Ask.com could be (will be) direct to
tickets on Ticketmaster.com, a user looking for travel services to
Hotwire.com and a user looking for a date to Match.com. So all of IAC's
properties win all the time but not necessarily the user.

If Ask.com wants to be like Google (even for it's sister properties) it
has to be achieved on its merits as a search engine or users will
quickly notice that it is nothing like Google. Search is a very
competitive business and keeping up with Google will be more difficult
than it appears.

Search Continues To Allude Microsoft

Microsoft today turned to the print world to talk about its capabilities in online search. Full-page print ads will appear in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and San Jose Mercury News. Even worst, the campaign is being executed by McCann, an agency that is barely able to execute it own online campaign.

The ads highlight the recently launched Windows Live Search engine's image search, local search, and mapping tools capabilities. The ads position Microsoft as the search underdog against Google. It reads "Before we begin, let us state the obvious. We're late to the game. We admit it. But instead of shrugging our shoulders and becoming a footnote in search history, we've decided to write a few new chapters."

Microsoft's share of the search pie is about 12 percent, down some 3.5 percentage points from last year. Microsoft's online division has revenues of $539 million, and made a profit of $68 million gain versus a loss of $136 million last year.

Significant Growth?
Microsoft SVP and CFO Chris Liddell, as quoted by SeekingAlpha, forecast revenue in the Online Services business to grow between 7% and 11% for the year and to be up 3% to 5% in quarter two. The full-year growth number implies significant year-over-year growth in the second half, based upon growth in both search and display advertising revenues."

Overture Passed Over
Three years ago Microsoft passed buying Overture. See 'Search Wars" Microsoft will have to buy its way into this party. This sector is projected to grow 27% to US$15.9 billion in the U.S this year according to eMarketer. And with Google locking up MySpace and YouTube it will be tough days ahead.

This WSJ article Tough Days For Microsoft sheds some great light http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116139351306899766-i4VZXbDLKR8oTbVOGvh_ZzjMN18_20071022.html