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hey domainers look at this http://search.live.com/cashback
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in a speech that he believes the cashback program will boost the number of people using Live Search for shopping, at least. More grandly, he predicted it will change the economics of the search advertising market as advertisers shift from paying for click on links to paying for concrete actions, like completing a purchase.
The online advertising market overall has begun to move in that direction with advertisers under increased pressure to deliver results from their spending. Historically, search ads that have made companies like Google Inc. successful are typically sold by the click, which itself was seen as revolutionary compared with the traditional method of paying for ads by the number of viewers.
"It's exciting. I think years from now you may look back and say, 'Wow, search started to get a fair bit more competitive,' and you can look back to that announcement," Gates said.
"By giving money directly back to the consumer, Microsoft hopes to change the balance of power," wrote IDC research analysts Caroline Dangson and Susan Feldman. They predicted that if Microsoft's effort is successful, advertisers will sink the bulk of their advertising into such rebate programs.
This isn't the first time Microsoft has resorted to buying search traffic. The software maker has tried offering large companies software and services credits for every employee who used Microsoft's search engine at work.
Microsoft also developed a collection of free games last year that triggered a Web search with every play. Players could rack up points and exchange them for prizes, including software, Xbox consoles and Zune media players.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in a speech that he believes the cashback program will boost the number of people using Live Search for shopping, at least. More grandly, he predicted it will change the economics of the search advertising market as advertisers shift from paying for click on links to paying for concrete actions, like completing a purchase.
The online advertising market overall has begun to move in that direction with advertisers under increased pressure to deliver results from their spending. Historically, search ads that have made companies like Google Inc. successful are typically sold by the click, which itself was seen as revolutionary compared with the traditional method of paying for ads by the number of viewers.
"It's exciting. I think years from now you may look back and say, 'Wow, search started to get a fair bit more competitive,' and you can look back to that announcement," Gates said.
"By giving money directly back to the consumer, Microsoft hopes to change the balance of power," wrote IDC research analysts Caroline Dangson and Susan Feldman. They predicted that if Microsoft's effort is successful, advertisers will sink the bulk of their advertising into such rebate programs.
This isn't the first time Microsoft has resorted to buying search traffic. The software maker has tried offering large companies software and services credits for every employee who used Microsoft's search engine at work.
Microsoft also developed a collection of free games last year that triggered a Web search with every play. Players could rack up points and exchange them for prizes, including software, Xbox consoles and Zune media players.
