We’ve been reading all kinds of articles about the Microsoft / Yahoo! partnership and what it will mean to marketers. To date, a keyword search recommendation to a client has been pretty straightforward. With almost 78% of all searches taking place on Google, we can pretty much cover our bases and get bang for our budgets by concentrating on Google.
However, with Bing and Yahoo! partnering up, the paid search landscape is changing. I, for one, am a fan of competition and the leverage it gives to the customer. Witness my customer service experience with XM/Sirius this week. I’ve been an XM subscriber for a number of years and needed an issue resolved. If I wasn’t going to get satisfaction, I was going to switch to Siri . . . wait a minute, what am I going to do if I don’t get my issue resolved? Return to terrestrial radio and morning DJs? I think not. And now I have no leverage. Nice.
Anyway, my point (and yes, I do have one) is that the impact of the Bing+Yahoo! partnership is going to mean some changes for the “Googlopoloy,” and how we plan our paid search programs. But, the partnership is reported to be pretty complicated and, thus, still a ways off.
Now, I wouldn’t say that it has ever felt like Google throws its weight around in the paid search area. But, a little competition has to be a good thing. Right?
Read more about the Microsoft / Yahoo! partnership by clicking here.
