We have been doing a number of these search engine analysis pieces over the last 12 months or so, and many have highlighted the significant strides made by Bing into the UK market share. The UK search engine marketplace is one heavily dominated by Google and has for while now topped over 90% of market share (for searchers using either .co.uk or .com). As a result both Yahoo and Bing have been fighting to a large degree for the scraps off Googles table.

Many recent pieces have suggested increased marketshare for Google however this month would suggest a quite different picture for Google, suggesting a drop of around 2% since our analysis on search engine market share back in August. During recent times, much of the market share increases were as a result of Bing taking markeet share off Yahoo , however the latest Hitwise data would seem to suggest that 2% drop has come out of Google’s market share, rather than off each other.

Bing in the same period did see a nominal increase of around 0.06%, however it was Yahoo who claimed around a 0.5% increase in their market share (one must add this is Yahoo UK searches only and we could add around another 0.5% on for other Yahoo based searches as well).

Much of this may be down to seasonality, certainly figures from early last year were around the same sort of region (90%), so we are very much back to early 2010 figures in terms of like for like analysis. We must remember however that during this period we have seen extensive marketing campaigns from the likes of Bing, plus additionally the evolution of the Yahoo/Bing search alliance. The rise therefore in Yahoo market share is a slightly surprising one given this additional caveat.

Whilst these are fairly small increases in market share, I think its good that we are at least saying some bites into Google market share. Market domination is often not a good scenario and despite this being a fairly nominal figure it may serve as a reminder to Google to keep on their toes.

Google has launched a new feature that scores websites for reading level – categorised on Basic/Intermediate and Advanced levels. These aren’t turned on by default however should you wish to view the reading level of a particularly result these can be activated as follows:

1. On the search results page, click Advanced Search below the search box.
2. Next to “Reading level” within the “Need more tools” section, select your desired reading level (basic, intermediate, or advanced) or choose to show all results annotated with reading levels.
3. Click Advanced search at the bottom of the page.
4. At any time, you can click the X in the right corner of the blue bar beneath the search box to go back to seeing all results.

Its interesting however seeing this put to the test, particularly given this does not appear to be down to user feedback (at least at present).

How it is worked out I would like to work out – given the example below for Holistic Search’s most influential SEO in the UK Shaun Anderson. Its certainly page-level centric  rather than domain level, looking at the results below.

Result for search - 'hobo web'

Hoboweb result for search - 'hoboweb'

Further to this, it would appear this isn’t just confined to news related sites.  Results for other sites such as the search engines can also be broken down in terms of their reader level:

Google reader level

Bing reader level

However strangely enough, the Yahoo result was slightly different

Yahoo reader level

I have to say, its an improvement to the results pages something that hasn’t always been the case with many of the recent updates to the results pages. Further to this the ability to refine these by the nature of the content is a nice addition,something which should it be rolled out to a wider audience could really take off.

One of the little tools I have installed on the Holistic Search blog is Statscounter, something I find hugely useful in terms of tracking visitors to the site. One of the more interesting visits came today with a visit from a Microsoft IP address (strangely enough from Google rather than Bing)

The query itself comes from the following
http://www.google.com/search?q=user%20response%20to%20″show%20more%20results%20from”%20feature%20in%20google&hl=en&sa=2

I will be interested to see whether this sees any changes to Bing searches over the next couple of days

It would appear that the long mooted Microsoft/Yahoo search deal has now been concluded according to a number of high profile publications such as TechCrunch and Search Cowboys. The official  press release goes as follows:

Microsoft, Yahoo! Change Search Landscape
Global Deal Creates Better Choice for Consumers and Advertisers

SUNNYVALE, CA and REDMOND, WA — 29 July, 2009 — Yahoo! and Microsoft announced an agreement that will improve the Web search experience for users and advertisers, and deliver sustained innovation to the industry. In simple terms, Microsoft will now power Yahoo! search while Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.

For Web users and advertisers, this deal will accelerate the pace and breadth of innovation by combining both companies’ complementary strengths and search platforms into a market competitor with the scale to fuel sustained development in search and search advertising. Users will find what they care about faster and with more personal relevance. Microsoft’s competitive search platforms will lead to more value for advertisers, better results for web publishers, and increased innovation and efficiency across the Internet.
Under this agreement, Yahoo! will focus on its core business of providing consumers with great experiences with the world’s favorite online destinations and Web products.

“This agreement comes with boatloads of value for Yahoo!, our users, and the industry. And I believe it establishes the foundation for a new era of Internet innovation and development,” said Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz. “Users will continue to experience search as a vital part of their Yahoo! experiences and will enjoy increased innovation thanks to the scale and resources this deal provides. Advertisers will also benefit from scale and enjoy greater ease of use and efficiencies working with a single platform and sales team for premium advertisers. Finally, this deal will help us increase our investments in priority areas in winning audience properties, display advertising capabilities, and mobile experiences.”

Providing a viable alternative to advertisers, this deal will combine Yahoo! and Microsoft search marketplaces so that advertisers no longer have to rely on one company that dominates more than 70 percent of all search. With the addition of Yahoo!’s search volume, Microsoft will achieve the size and scale required to unleash competition and innovation in the market, for consumers as well as advertisers.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the agreement will provide Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, the scale necessary to more effectively compete, attracting more users and advertisers, which in turn will lead to more relevant ads and search results.

“Through this agreement with Yahoo!, we will create more innovation in search, better value for advertisers, and real consumer choice in a market currently dominated by a single company,” said Ballmer. “Success in search requires both innovation and scale. With our new Bing search platform, we’ve created breakthrough innovation and features. This agreement with Yahoo! will provide the scale we need to deliver even more rapid advances in relevancy and usefulness. Microsoft and Yahoo! know there’s so much more that search could be. This agreement gives us the scale and resources to create the future of search.”

“This deal fits the long-term strategic direction of Yahoo! to remain the world’s leading online media company and Carol Bartz has the full and unanimous support of the Yahoo! Board behind this deal,” said Roy Bostock, chairman, Yahoo! Inc. “This is a significant opportunity for us. Microsoft is an industry innovator in search, and it is a great opportunity for us to focus our investments in other areas critical to our future.”

The key terms of the agreement are as follows:

- The term of the agreement is 10 years;

- Microsoft will acquire an exclusive 10 year license to Yahoo!’s core search technologies, and Microsoft will have the ability to integrate Yahoo! search technologies into its existing web search platforms;
Microsoft’s Bing will be the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform for Yahoo! sites. Yahoo! will continue to use its technology and data in other areas of its business such as enhancing display advertising technology.

- Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers. Self-serve advertising for both companies will be fulfilled by Microsoft’s AdCenter platform, and prices for all search ads will continue to be set by AdCenter’s automated auction process.

- Each company will maintain its own separate display advertising business and sales force.

- Yahoo! will innovate and “own” the user experience on Yahoo! properties, including the user experience for search, even though it will be powered by Microsoft technology.

- Microsoft will compensate Yahoo! through a revenue sharing agreement on traffic generated on Yahoo!’s network of both owned and operated (O&O) and affiliate sites.

- Microsoft will pay traffic acquisition costs (TAC) to Yahoo! at an initial rate of 88% of search revenue generated on Yahoo!’s O&O sites during the first 5 years of the agreement.

- Yahoo! will continue to syndicate its existing search affiliate partnerships.

- Microsoft will guarantee Yahoo!’s O&O revenue per search (RPS) in each country for the first 18 months following initial implementation in that country.

- At full implementation (expected to occur within 24 months following regulatory approval), Yahoo! estimates, based on current levels of revenue and current operating expenses, that this agreement will provide a benefit to annual GAAP operating income of approximately $500 million and capital expenditure savings of approximately $200 million. Yahoo! also estimates that this agreement will provide a benefit to annual operating cash flow of approximately $275 million.

The agreement protects consumer privacy by limiting the data shared between the companies to the minimum necessary to operate and improve the combined search platform, and restricts the use of search data shared between the companies. The agreement maintains the industry-leading privacy practices that each company follows today.

The agreement does not cover each company’s web properties and products, email, instant messaging, display advertising, or any other aspect of the companies’ businesses. In those areas, the companies will continue to compete vigorously.

The transaction will be subject to regulatory review. The agreement entered into today anticipates that the parties will enter into more detailed definitive agreements prior to closing. Microsoft and Yahoo! expect the agreement to be closely reviewed by the industry and government regulators, and welcome questions. The companies are hopeful that closing can occur in early 2010.

The companies have established a website at http://www.choicevalueinnovation.com to provide consumers, advertisers and publishers with additional information about the benefits of the agreement.

According to the live Conference Call which is taking place as I speak, both companies can focus on core areas something which could mean each taking a greater interest in a specific niche. Certainly for a long time Yahoo’s focus appears to have been primarily display focussed and such a move could mean Microsoft taking a much greater role in the development of the search product, although it would appear that Yahoo technology would be behind much of the search functionality of both search engines (Quote @searchcowboys twitter stream)

Yahoo technology will be integrated with Bing and search both networks

The inevitable question will thus be raised. Is the new Microhoo a viable competitor to Google. When considering this question one should consider this outside of merely the US and even more so Western Europe. Many South-East Asian countries have a far high number of Yahoo (vs Google) userbase and as such, this deal can only serve to establish both brands even more in those markets.

What it will however allow is greater potential traction within the valuable dare I say first world countries where advertising revenues via search are far more valuable, and allow them a more competitive alternative to that of the seperate Yahoo and MSN brands.

As much as I would like to think this is going to compete, any immediate impact is unlikely as be totally completed before 2010. Further this any increased traction within the search markets is going to be hugely down to Microhoo’s ability to innovate – something which I personally think has always set Google apart from many of its competitors.

Its certainly an interesting development – however I can’t help thinking it may be a little bit too late…

There have been a number of tweets going round Twitter over the last hour or so relating to combining a PPC and SEO strategy and figures for employing such a tactic. Google and Yahoo for obvious reasons will highlight the benefits of such a tactic, however there are a number of such studies in existance, and the evidence is quite compelling.

99% of C-level executives use the web at work.

52% of executives consider the Internet the most important source of information on business.

C-level execs are online somewhere between 115 minutes and 137 minutes per day.
Source: Harris Interactive & GartnerG2 Study, March 2005

Yahoo have one such example where the following evidence regarding holistic search marketing was producted
Source: Yahoo

Google have a similar bit of research published however whilst the original Yahoo research targeted impact on clickthrough, the Google study was more involved in terms of brand perception and brand association.

Further research by Enquiro and Google continues to reinforce the benefits of a combined PPC/SEO strategy and the effect it has in terms of consumers willingness to purchase following engagement.

The full Enquiro/Google research whitepaper can be found via the Enquiro website (Highly recommended reading).

There are obvious niches where such tactics may not work, and it is often a case of testing (refining and testing again) however I would always advise caution when deciding to blanket turn off PPC once organic traction has been obtained. As the research above suggests, it may not always result in the best ROI.

Whether Bing is a suitable name for a search engine aside, there is no getting away from the fact that there has been a significant build up to the launch of Microsoft’s Bing search engine for a while, since early Kumo rumours leaked out – and in particular in the build up to SMX Advanced. However there is no doubting that Google did a fantastic job of ruining Microsoft’s big day.

Source: Searchengineland.com

Whether Google Wave changes digital communications in the same way Google changed search engines is a different matter, Googles timing of the launch of Wave was clearly designed to reduce coverage of the launch of Bing, something they have achieved in droves, and at the same time made those looking to cover the initial Bing launch choose between the two – ie the Next Google Yahoo killer (and then maybe Google in the future) or the next big communication tool (and perhaps a Microsoft IM killer in the process) – one has to say its an interesting scenario.

Source: Searchengineland.com

That is something that certainly wasn’t lost on press coverage. Rather than devote entire coverage to the launch of the Bing search engine, they now had to choose between the two. This is something we have come to expect from Google, having seen similar ‘Guerilla’ announcements previously in particular prior to the launch of Cuil where Google announced a significant increase in the amount of content indexed, something which was the cornerstone of the Cuil product. 1-0 to Google before a ball has even been kicked.

There is no doubting that the level of coverage regarding Bing will significantly increase again over the coming weeks as more people get access to the new search engine (in particular us UK search marketing types), however Google certainly has – as the title suggested – rained on Googles parade.

Yahoo’s market share has been somewhat volatile recently, andaccording to some experts a continuing decline is to be expected, particularly if some reports from the Dow Jones are to be believed. According to a report by the Web Street Journal Yahoo’s share may decline by around another 3% and lose around 12-18% of its current search volume. Much of this can be attributed to the loss of partnership deals with major computer hardware manufacturers such as HP and Acer.

A secondary impact of the loss of such deals is probably more notable, particularly when you consider the lack of ‘competition’ in the sector. Lose Yahoo and you only really have  a choice of three – in realistic terms two search engines to choose from namely MSN and Google. Given Google’s dominance in the market, I would suggest there is only one suitable competitor and that competitor happens to be your nearest rival in terms of market share.

It is indeed further noticeable that Microsoft have indeed been quick to exploit these opportunities. Partnerships with HP (replacing previous engine of choice Yahoo) and Dell will have given Microsoft some added impetus – and the potential to immediately target around 55% of PC shipments in the US. With Google continuing to dominate the search landscape it is increasingly becoming a race for second place, something neither engine has managed to make a clear move on.

Yahoo have been quick to suggest that the loss of such parternships shouldn’t affect market share as much as the above report would have us believe suggesting “consumers will continue to use Yahoo search even if they buy a new computer pre-loaded with a rival’s toolbar.”. I personally would suggest the only engine that could guarantee that level of loyalty would be Google, and that taking that for granted in the current climate is possibly a bit foolhardy – particularly given the apparant focus on search from Microsoft, and even the rise of channels such as Twitter as a search engine of sorts.

Whilst the US search engine market is very different to that of the UK, the share of Google being far higher in the UK, I would suggest this could still have some significant knock on effects. With Google still taking nothing for granted, in a continual drive towards further relevance (and lets face it increased revenues), the other two need to continue to be innovative in order to attract both advertisers and searchers alike to utilise them more. Lets be brutal both of them could do no worse by starting at:

• Looking further afield. The world doesn’t end at the US, new products are generally slow at moving to foreign markets (if at all).
• Giving users value add. I am always disappointed by the relevance of a number of searchers on both engines – and whilst I personally use them more than most – it comes through a requirement of considerable data mining more than anything
• Giving advertisers value add. In my opinion natural search battles is continually ongoing. Monetising and ‘Management’ or organic search and digital asset value adds would seem to be natural progression
• Hitting new channels hard. Google in particular seem to be pushing mobile hard. The other two need to be hitting this – harder!!

Search engines can’t take anything for granted. Lets just take a look at Altavista. They have to continue to evolve – otherwise things can change and change very quickly. I personally would expect a very different landscape in 5-10 years, but I guess only time will tell.

According to Advertising Age, Microsoft are looking at throwing between $80 and $100 Million to try and wrestle market search marketing share away from Yahoo and Google. The work is expected to be given to to WPP agency, JWT and Crispin Porter & Bogusk. The campaign is expected to see iterations on multiple channels including online, TV, print and radio executions.

According to the release on adAge

According to one person close the situation, the forthcoming campaign will be careful to not position “Kumo” as a competitor to Yahoo or Google and instead cast it as a reimagined search engine that ups the game by yielding fewer but more-focused results. The proposed strategy is probably a good — if not the only — way to go.

Many search-industry watchers say the only way to challenge Google, the current category leader, will be to present something markedly different. The thing is, at first glance, screenshots of “Kumo” don’t look too different from the current search format used by most major search engines: organic search results in the main part of the page, with sponsored links across the top and the right side. The new Microsoft interface does appear to have some interesting filtering features, both in the organic-results area and along the left side of the page, to help searchers drill down into more specific topics.

As previous experience will tell us, significant spending on advertising is not a guarantee of success. Ask.com have spent significant amounts on above the line advertising in the past, with limited (and varying degrees of success). It is therefore not a given that this shift in spend to focus on the search product will indeed bear any fruits, and given them any traction within the search marketplace.

Indeed, success in my opinion may lie elsewhere, and even closer to home. Microsoft themselves have launched a number of innovative new products and solutions in the last couple of months, something which may provide the key to greater market share. Products such as Cash Back and some of the other new products/features may help gartner greater usaage of the search engine, however greater uptake is going to rely heavily on the quality of the search product – particularly when compared to the Google product itself which has seen some significant enhancements over the last couple of weeks.

Commentators suggest a more successful approach may be to partner with Yahoo, however whether this is enough to compete against Google is a different question. In my personal opinion the biggest battleground is that for second and third place . Is the $100 million enough to compete against Google – no. Is it enough to help compete against Yahoo – possibly. Only time will tell.

Other articles on this subject:

Microsoft to throw $100 million at their search market share problem – Search Engine Land

[The views in this post are those of Peter Young, and not necessarily those of his employers]