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Microsoft Will Pay You to Use Its Search Engine

by Blake Besharian on May 25, 2008 at 05:54 PM



Microsoft unveiled its latest attempt to grab some of search engine advertising market currently dominated by Google, and it is by far its most desperate move yet. After failing to buyout Yahoo!, Microsoft has announced plans to pay users of its search engine in the form of rebates on products bought through Live.com. The bribe will constitute a certain percentage of the item bought and will be paid via a "cashback account", which will credit the user with a rebate 60 days after the purchase.

While Microsoft is obviously trying to grab a share of the search engine advertising market, it is also attempting "to differentiate in vertical experiences and to disrupt the current model," according to an internal memo. In English, this means that it knows it isn't going to take over the market, but instead is making a lame attempt to distract Yahoo and Google's users with yet another option for shopping online.

In addition, by having its users create online accounts, Microsoft will have records of their users spending, valuable information in the world of targeted online advertising.

All of this depends on whether or not people like this service, and judging from the look of it, that's not very likely. The plain-Jane user interface and the complicated rebate system probably won't be dragging Google's customers away in droves, and the product prices aren't that competitive, even with a rebate.

Microsoft's bid just strikes us as an ill conceived and thinly veiled attempt at retribution for Yahoo!'s refusal to be bought out, and it will probably fail at that, too. [Source: Wired]


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