Microsoft`s Live Search Patents and Algorithms Related to Blogs - Microsoft playing the catch up game
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Microsoft hopes to catch up with big G by patching holes in Live Search. But it faces a time hurdle; it entered the search game five years later than Google (Google 1998, MS 2003). Live Search is going through stages that are similar to the ones that Google did. For example, Webmaster World forum members reported a large shakedown of search results that brought completely irrelevant, spam pages to surface. It was compared to Google's results a few years ago. Partway down the first page of this thread, one poster commented:
The results are similar to Google but back into year 2003! before the Florida updated.
Live search is going through development stages that are similar to Google's, but without positive widespread press coverage. Instead, Microsoft is getting a lot of bad mouthing, from all sides (including SEO Chat and other search engine focused publications).
There's another barrier for Microsoft.
When Google started, instead of emphasizing the commercial aspects, it focused on the technology, which proved to be a winning approach. I believe that's something Microsoft misses. In Balmer's (CEO) speech to the troops he mentioned something about "winning more search advertisers" (paraphrasing).
That is exactly why Microsoft is having a hard time. They view search as a cash cow, not as a useful application that makes people's lives easier. While Google spoils users, Microsoft buys distribution deals with tech giants. At one point Microsoft bought corporate home pages in thousands of corporations in hopes of getting more usage. Instead of spending dough on "bribery," Microsoft could hire 200 more people and task them with "creation of killer features that make users come back." That I believe is their biggest problem. Google is better; why should I use Live Search? Name me one good reason.
Until Microsoft figures out how to lure users (or until it buys Yahoo), their share of the search engine market will remain low.
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