It's a marginal gain but a gain none the less. The June numbers show Microsoft's Live Search gained 0.3 percentage points, putting them at 9.2 percent. Google lost that same amount. (Yahoo also gained.) Is Microsoft's Live Search strategy working?
Frankly I'm surprised Microsoft is already at 9.2% of the U.S. Web search market. Obviously an acquisition of some or all of Yahoo by Microsoft would greatly accelerate the quest for market share but that's anything but certain these days. While 9.2% is great progress so far, gaining only three tenths of a percent each month will make Live Search's climb up a slow one. Microsoft's got to figure out new ways to pull users off the Google home page and onto Live Search.
That's the problem with a me-too play. It's tough to differentiate and get customers away from the market leader and onto your product. Often price promotions are used as an enticement, but that's not relevant in the world of free Web searching (free to the end user, anyway).
Microsoft Live Search is making gains, but there's a lot of fighting left to do to take the hill owned by Google.
Like this? Here are some of Mitchell's recent posts.
Live Mesh Sighting For Macs
S+S: The Kobayashi Maru of Microsoft
Podcast: Simon Crosby - Why Simon Loves Hyper-V
Partners Quake Under Microsoft Hosting $3 Pricing
Pictures From Microsoft WPC
Podcast: Simon Crosby - The Hypervisor Wars Are Over (part 1)Product Reviews:
Microsoft Live Mesh Google App Engine LiveNewsCameras.com Xobni Outlook pluginRecent Converging Network Blog Posts:
Get Ready For XaaS Everywhere Unbelievably Bad Web Password Security Back From Hiatus, Saved by Web 2.0 Technology It Takes a Village.. ah, actually, being there first and tons of hard workFavorite Book Recommendations: The Big Switch Zero Day Attack Clear Blogging
Check out Mitchell's Converging On Microsoft Podcast. Current Podcast Episode: Security Mike Gets Serious About Security
Also visit Mitchell's personal blog The Converging Network and SSAATY Security Podcast.
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Mitchell Ashley is principal consultant at Converging Network LLC where he provides product, technology and social media consulting to emerging technology companies. A successful CTO and product innovator, Mitchell has created many successful, award winning products in the networking, security, convergence, Internet and IT industries. In addition to blogging for NetworkWorld, Mitchell regularly blogs at TheConvergingNetwork and co-hosts the widely popular StillSecure After All These Years podcast.
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The opinions expressed in this Weblog are those of the writer and may not represent the opinions of Network World.
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