MSN: Still Too Much Junk in the Trunk - Netscape > IE ?

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I think it is important to point out that the very same argument existed back in the Netscape/Internet Explorer days when optimizing your site for a particular browser. Back in the day webmasters really only concerned themselves with optimizing their sites for the Netscape browser because it had a stranglehold on the browser market – something like 90%. When Microsoft decided to make a run at the browser market, their first few attempts were futile. The browser was horrible, it rendered most sites horribly and earned its nickname “Internet Exploder.”

Of course we all know how this story turned out. Microsoft put a ton of money and a ton of muscle into making IE the dominant browser, and today IE controls over 80% of the browser market –- across the Developer Shed network, 85 percent of our visitors use IE. I point this out because a company that has the resources of a Microsoft can always make a run at any marketplace in the technology sector, with MSN being no exception.

Although I will admit that quite a bit of time has passed, with Microsoft chasing Google and MSN not being able to make any inroads at all, so one begins to wonder if anyone will catch Google. No one ever caught up with eBay, and that's certainly not for a lack of trying. CNet attempted auctions, and so did Yahoo; both failed miserably. At some point when critical mass is reached and the company who holds the top of the mountain continues to innovate and lead the pack, it's extremely difficult to dethrone them. Google could be such a company.

What could MSN do in order to improve its search and take a step towards catching Google? Well for starters it could get more involved with the SEO community as a whole. When Google started amassing users and traffic it shunned the SEO community like the Black Death. Whenever there seems to be an algorithm issue or simply a minor bug with the way Google reports results, the SEO community tends to be aware of it first –- many times even before Google is. But Google felt it needed to keep its division of church and state and wasn’t interested in feedback, bugs, or basically any information coming from the SEO community.

The thought process was that the SEO community was a necessary evil byproduct of Google's dominance in the search sector, and that they did not want their scientists/engineers to be polluted by outside thoughts. However, as time progressed Google slowly started to come around and did a 180 on this issue. They slowly started becoming involved with the SEO community, even if it was just to get a heads up on bugs and other things not working properly.

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Comments On: MSN: Still Too Much Junk in the Trunk

· Im the author of this article - I think MSN still has quite a ways to go if it wants...    · I'd have to agree with you that MSN has a VERY long way to go before it can be...    · I couldnt agree more Ben. Call me crazy but I see a merger on a large scale in the...    · I agree, MSN still have a long way before it can consider compete with google.    · I agree on the fact that MSN has a long long way to come in order to give...    · I know that Microsoft was indeed in talks to acquire at least part of Yahoo at one...    · Excellent points - A merger amongst internet search giants would only be of value if...    · Microsoft has the power to add to that 5% without even improving their engine. With...    · I think there's a lot more potential for innovation in search engines yet. You have...   >>> Post your comment now!