Punching "customer loyalty program" into Microsoft Corp.'s search engine yields about 12 million hits.
Now the company wants to add another one to the list -- its own Live Search service.
The battle for search engine supremacy has traditionally centered on technology -- who has the largest index of Web pages, the most sophisticated query algorithms and can display relevant pages the fastest.
Experts, however, say that although many of the same page listings that turn up on Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc.'s rival search engines can be found through Live Search, Microsoft still trails its rivals in search technology.
Instead, Microsoft's new strategy is to turn to its marketing department to get people interested in trying Live Search by borrowing a page from frequent-flyer and gas-station loyalty programs.
Earlier this year, the company rolled out four initiatives, each designed to place marketing before technology by offering users and advertisers perks to try out Live Search. Microsoft believes that by offering financial incentives to try Live Search through prizes, offline advertising and discounts with online retailers, more users will be willing to try the service, giving marketers a reason to buy more ads.
But will it be enough to get meaningful numbers of users to bypass Google and give Live Search a go?
"We're not No. 1 in the market, we know that," said Stacey Jarvis, who heads up Live Search for Microsoft Canada.
"This is about the marketing and what we offer consumers from a search perspective. We're taking strides to really understand and engage with our customers so that they have a great experience in search. We're taking the normal, boring blue links and bringing some coolness to it, something consumers haven't seen before," she said.
The first initiative, known as Cashback, is designed to drive online sales for the companies that advertise on Live Search. Whenever a user clicks on an ad delivered through Live Search and makes a purchase, Microsoft uses some of the adv revenue to fund a part of the purchase, essentially giving the shopper a discount.
Although many bloggers and analysts scoffed at Microsoft's apparent move to pay people to use its search engine, already more than 140 companies have taken Microsoft up on its offer, including Gap Inc., AT&T Inc. and eBay Inc.
"Beyond the great deals for buyers, Microsoft Live Search Cashback has improved our (return on investment) on paid search by 50 per cent, and based upon our shared success, eBay is increasing its search marketing spend with Microsoft Live Search by threefold," said Stephanie Tilenius, eBay's North American general manager.
Microsoft has also been running trials of a program called SearchPerks that awards users points for each query made using Live Search. The points can be exchanged for prizes such as music downloads and video game accessories.
Every time a user makes a query using Live Search until the end of 2008, they are entered into a draw to win one of nearly 1,500 prizes, including cars, basketball tickets and computer equipment.
As well, Microsoft wants secure more of the searches people do at work by offering companies discounts on software and other perks in exchange for promoting Live Search internally.
So far, Microsoft is encouraged by the results, even if the numbers don't show the company making substantial gains in search-engine market share. In September, Live Search accounted for less than 6 percent of the North American search market, down from 7.4 percent a year earlier, comScore said.
By the numbers
Search engine market share as of September, 2008
North America
Google -- 60.9 percent
Yahoo -- 13.2 percent
Microsoft -- 5.8 percent.
Global
Google -- 59.6 percent
Baidu -- 10.3 percent
Yahoo -- 10.1 percent
Microsoft -- 2.7 percent
Source: comScore Inc.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Canadian clients may not useMust credit Toronto Globe and Mail(All currency U.S.)
Post new comment