Categories: Articles

Microsoft Says They'll Beat Google In Six Months

I heard that before.
It was a year and half ago when that song last aired. I came across this story: Microsoft: Give us Six Months to Beat Google from MediaPost. The story originated out of Reuters and here’s what MediaPost reports:
“They’ve said it before and now they’re saying it again: within the next six months, Microsoft claims ‘we’ll be more relevant than Google.’ So said Microsoft’s Neil Holloway, president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at a Reuters conference this week, and he’s talking specifically about search. The last time Microsoft trumpeted about besting Google at its own game was about a year and a half ago, when the company unveiled an independent MSN Search; of course, the software giant lost badly, as Google currently commands a domineering 50 percent share of search volume, compared with MSN Search’s 12 percent. Holloway’s comments on the Reuters story are confusing, but he seems to believe that integrating MSN Search with Windows Messenger and Hotmail could help it gain the upper hand. Holloway says the new MSN Search will bring back specific information rather than URLs containing specific information, helping users find exactly what they’re looking for rather than a Web site containing pieces of information. Holloway says Europe will be three to six months behind the U.S. in transferring its usage to MSN from Google.”
That easy? I’m not sure. I’ve heard some very positive feedback regarding Microsoft’s latest pay-per-click search advertising engine in terms of conversion, but my guess is it will take more than that to turn the Google tide.
Read the full story here: MediaPost – Microsoft: Give Us Six Months To Beat Google.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.