MSN
Search Beta is Live 
It's taken a long time
for MSN to study Google's success and figure out a way to emulate it, but the
revitalized MSN search engine looks like
it is serving some good quality results. They look useful even if the volume of
listings indexed doesn't match Google's. MSN even has it's own toolbar.
Although Google's marketshare
is enormous in comparison, MSN seems to want to get their search engine back to
earlier years when it was one of the most popular (1998). There are keyword niches
in MSN where a company might tap into some very targeted traffic, so if this is
the case, it may be worthwhile for your company. It's unfortunate that MSN has
few users and is now delivering some good results. The search engine is heavily
laden with graphics and takes a long time to download, one more reason why MSN
search has lost it's use among Web searchers.
The New MSN Search
The new MSN search
generates its results primarily from the Inktomi search service which is now owned
by Yahoo but results are affected by Yahoo directory listings. This means a Yahoo
directory listing does have value to you as a business Web site owner.
Companies wishing to
list with Inktomi have to pay about $30 per page to be listed in the Inktomi index.
Secondary advertising is supplied by Overture which is also owned by Yahoo.
MSN has a small market
share in search engine usage, but still can be a player if SEO
companies and experts believe it is providing good value and sends that message
to the public. |
