To some, this may read like an article from the parody site The Onion — but it’s not. Microsoft is preparing to unveil a new initiative for its Live Search product on Wednesday, one that will pay users to use the site, according to The Seattle Post Intelligencer.
More specifically the program, known as “Live Search cashback” (which is actually already live) will pay consumers who find and buy a product via Live Search a certain percentage of the purchase price back. Microsoft has already signed up partners including Barnes & Noble, Sears, Home Depot, J&R Electronics and Office Depot among others.
This new approach stems from Microsoft’s acquisition of comparative shopping engine Jellyfish last year.
Apparently, Microsoft thinks the idea that the search engine with the best results will come out on top (Google), can be replaced by the timeless adage: Money talks. It’s pretty comical, but it makes sense. If I were doing a search for a product I was going to buy, I would rather do it at a site that will give me a discount rather than one that wouldn’t. There’s a caveat there however; I still would want the best results.
The question is if this will have any meaningful effect on Microsoft’s current 3rd-place search market share in the search business. The answer? Probably not. Microsoft should worry about improving its algorithms or coming up with a completely new way of doing search — not paying users to use an inferior product.
Buying Yahoo’s Search business would be a much more effective way for Microsoft to use its boatloads of money to get ahead in the game.
The real question: If Microsoft buys Yahoo Search via Live Search cashback, will it get a discount?
2:24 am
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[...] according to Silicon Alley Insider. They actually somewhat like the idea, the whole thing still sounds pretty desperate to [...]
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Microsoft Live Search Cashback: TechCrunch Says Wow, VentureBeat and SA Insider Say Bomb | said:
[...] seems alone in his enthusiasm. Henry Blodget at SAI says it is a great idea that won’t work. MG Siegler at VentureBeat is more scathing saying “The question is if this will have any meaningful effect on [...]
12:26 pm
Yahoo and Microsoft search market share *combined* now less than half of Google’s » VentureBeat said:
[...] you saw the writing on the wall yesterday with news that Microsoft is now basically paying users to use its search engine — yes, Google search share rose again in [...]
11:22 am
Google pushes towards 70 percent of all U.S. searches; Yahoo, Microsoft going the other way. » VentureBeat said:
[...] Microsoft’s rather comical attempt to pay users to use its Live Search product doesn’t appear to be paying off for anyone expect those users it is paying. Perhaps its purchase of the semantic search site Powerset will help it fair better, but results from that are likely a long way off. [...]
4:39 pm
Google commands 88% of all searches said:
[...] Microsoft has taken the absurdly amusing step of paying people to use its search service. We’ll see how that one works [...]
9:08 pm
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[...] finds Microsoft making gains in search — Could it be due to its comical attempt to pay users to use its search, or is it something else? Either way, Google is still utterly [...]
1:19 am
Microsoft fails to buy Yahoo, so it buys…some European comparison shopping sites? » VentureBeat said:
[...] Microsoft’s play here is apparently to become more ingrained in European search and online habits. Going after more shopping traffic seems questionable considering the laughable move it made back in May to pay users to use its Live search engine to look for purchases to make. Given that Microsoft’s search share once again fell last month, it appears that strategy failed, as we thought it would. [...]
2:05 am
Roundup: Buffet invests, M&As and IPOs sink, Mac laptops rise and more » VentureBeat said:
[...] on Live search. You can redeem these points for stuff. I guess it’s better than straight up paying people, but it’s still awfully pathetic. Make that best product Microsoft, that’s how you win, [...]