Yahoo and Microsoft Team Up to Take on Google
With the recent news that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has given the green light to the proposed Yahoo/Bing search network deal, the question now becomes are Microsoft and Yahoo finally in a position to take on Google?
The deal struck between Yahoo and Microsoft will see Microsoft’s Bing-powered organic search results displayed in Yahoo searches whilst Yahoo’s Search Marketing program will control paid results in Bing. In essence, what it will mean is that Yahoo and Bing will have the same search results.
In Australia, Microsoft’s AdCenter program is not available, as Yahoo and Microsoft already have a deal that allows paid search placements on Microsoft search networks (Bing, NineMSN, Live, etc) to be controlled using Yahoo’s Search Marketing system. This means that in Australia, the deal does not have as major ramifications to the search engine landscape as it does in other countries around the world.
In Australia, the only real change will be in Yahoo’s organic search results, which will now be powered by Bing.
To have an idea about the implications of the ACCC’s decision, it’s important to understand that in markets where there exists an oligopoly (only a small number of firms controlling a large portion of the market), the ACCC will often step in to oppose the big players merging or striking arrangements that could hamper competition.
However, in this case, the ACCC found that the deal would be unlikely to reduce competition because:
- Microsoft and Yahoo already have a deal in Australia with paid search ads. Currently, ads on Bing are already controlled through Yahoo’s Search Marketing program in Australia, meaning the new deal did not present as much of a change to the way Australians are presented with search results when compared with the rest of the world.
- Yahoo and Microsoft’s current market share was so insignificant when compared to Google’s, the deal is unlikely to result in any additional market power.
- The deal is unlikely to reduce innovation in the search engine industry.
The ACCC’s ruling, whilst a good result for Microsoft and Yahoo, is also a bit of a back-hander, because it essentially means the ACCC considers the multi-billion dollar companies of Microsoft and Yahoo small players in the industry, and not big enough to be able to obtain any market power.
But despite the deal, Google is unlikely to be worried. Microsoft has spent millions on advertising Bing worldwide, yet despite this, has failed to grab any significant market share from Google.
As for whether Yahoo and Microsoft are now in a position to take on Google, I doubt it. Google’s massive paid search “cash cow” is funding an innovation program others can only dream of. Wisely, both Yahoo and Bing have realised the only way they can stop Google is take their search engine market share, hence dampening their massive advertising revenues.
However, this is a classic case of easier said than done.
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Read MoreFlash Websites: Beautiful Outside, Ugly Inside
Flash websites are nice, they’re pretty and stimulating but still far from practical. In fact, in many cases, the prettier your site, the more complex message it sends to a potential or current client. Considering how far we’ve advanced in technology and with the Internet, you’d expect this primary focus would be clearer.
Unfortunately since we’re all wrapped up in these fancy improvements, we are focusing less on the potential/current client and more on our own wants and desires. Adobe Flash is one of these technological advancements which has utterly stunned everyone from the beginning, though it’s important to know the mechanics behind it and what effect it has on your pocket.
The first point I would like to make is that in my opinion you should never make your whole site entirely out of Flash, as this can be riddled with complications. In addition, I have provided other examples to why Flash isn’t ideal:
- Speed & Size – A full Flash site is simply too big in size. Majority of people do not have lighting fast fibre optic Internet, so they won’t be sticking around for long if they’re staring at a loading bar all day. Size has been reduced remarkably with further advancements, however catering for the majority is still essential.
- Dynamic Resolution Resizing – Catering for various resolutions isn’t possible with Flash, without spending countless hours and tens of thousands of extra dollars into creating multiple versions of one site. CSS (or Cascading Style Sheets) offers this option and is free and compatible with every browser!
- Mobile Web – Many unfortunately still don’t take mobile browsing into account, however this is critical in today, especially when mobile phones are replacing land lines (home phones) and some computers and laptops. Not to mention the revolutionary iPhone, enabling fast web browsing via 3G or Wi-Fi, many simply don’t see the need to carry around a 2kg laptop when they can carry a phone.
- Price – Flash takes longer and requires much more extensive knowledge, making a Flash designer worth their weight in gold. However with all these combined, comes one big hefty price tag. When you require a modification, you pay for it, and not lightly either.
- SEO – SEO is required for your website to achieve high ranking positions in the search engines and substantial traffic, which ultimately will be your potential/future clients. However, as Google can only read a very small part of Flash and other search engines aren’t unable to read it at all, you’re losing a great deal of potential clients.
This is not to say flash is bad, quite the contrary, as it engages users and creates a very dynamic feel, but it’s important to note with the combination of all these complications that creating a website in Flash is often only to impress or provide a “wow” factor to people, stimulating only their brains and not necessarily your pocket.
Popularity: 20%
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