Advertising: Microsoft Takes Aim at Googleâs Ad Supremacy
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Microsoft is taking solid aim at a business that is arguably outside its core competence: advertising.
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(InfoWorld) - In a move aimed at making it easier for customers to purchase advertising,Â MicrosoftÂ unveiled on Monday an organization that aligns all of its advertising sales, research and planning efforts. The Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions team -- which falls under the division overseen by Kevin Johnson, Microsoft's Platforms & Services -- gives customers one group within Microsoft for all of their advertising needs, said Eric Hadley, general manager of global marketing for Microsoft. The organization comprises former MSN advertising sales employees as well as others involved in advertising at Microsoft across other divisions. The company also has been hiring employees to fuel its advertising efforts, and they will join the new division, Hadley said. Until recently, Microsoft's MSN site was the only place where the company offered advertising, Hadley said. But in the last 18 months, the company has built out a portfolio of products that offer a range of advertising options, such as Xbox Live as well as its Windows Live and Office Live Web-based services. "Advertising is now a core asset across all aspects of the company," Hadley said. Microsoft realized it needed to unify how customers could purchase advertising across all of these properties for a comprehensive advertising plan, he said. Microsoft Chief Executive OfficerÂ Steve Ballmer has expressed his intentÂ on more than one occasion to overtake competitors GoogleÂ and Yahoo Â in the online advertising market. Microsoft has said it plans to spend $500 million in its current fiscal year to expand its online business, with a big focus on increasing advertising sales. Eventually, Microsoft's adCenter platform will play a big role in helping to streamline Microsoft's advertising efforts, Hadley said. Right now, the platform,Â which Microsoft launched in the U.S. in May, offers only sales of keyword searches. But eventually adCenter will allow customers to purchase advertising across all of the Microsoft properties that offer it, he said. In its last quarterly earnings call in July, Microsoft said it was not seeing a big uptick in revenue yet from adCenter, and skeptics are doubtful the company will be catching up to competitors in online advertising revenue anytime soon. However, Hadley said Monday that Microsoft is seeing "a lot of growth" in sales through adCenter, and believes that the formation of Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions will help support this trend. "You know with Microsoft -- we don't always get it right right from the start, but we feel we're going in the right direction by aligning all the company assets behind advertising," Hadley said.
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By VAUGHAN, Gareth  THE new centrepiece of Telecom's Internet strategy, YahooXtra, is aiming to grab a dominant chunk of the Internet advertising market as it takes on former partner Microsoft's MSN in a battle for eyeballs and revenue.
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Not too long ago, Google Inc. seemed little more than a pesky insect to Microsoft Corp.'s 800-pound gorilla. No more. As Google rapidly rolls out new products, the company best known for its wildly popular search engine is muscling into the software giant's turf, including its stronghold: the computer desktop.
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By MICHAEL LIEDTKE SAN FRANCISCO - Internet search leader Google Inc. is trying to convince federal and state authorities that Microsoft Corp.'s Vista operating system is stifling competition as the high-tech heavyweights wrestle for the allegiance of personal computer users.
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REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp., stepping up its efforts to compete with rival Google Inc., will offer consumers a preview of its technology for searching the Internet, beginning Thursday.
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Microsoft's CEO tells financial analysts that the company has a plan to take on its major rival. Yahoo could speed up the plan, but it will build its ad business, regardless.
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Microsoft is launching a new look for some of itâs Live Search results in an attempt to win more of the search business from Google.
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The success of Google Inc. opened  Microsoft Corp.'s eyes to the riches available in Web  advertising, the chief technologist for the world's largest  software maker said on Tuesday.
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By James Coates, Chicago Tribune  Feb. 25--On Thursday, the Googlers launched their long-awaited attack on the Microsofties' 800-pound-gorilla dominance of the business software gold mine. You know, the software behind that monitor sitting on your desk at work.
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On its own, Yahoo is a stumbling Internet giant. But to Microsoft and Google, two of the world's most powerful technology companies, control of Yahoo has come to represent an unmatched strategic prize. With its vast reach, Yahoo offers a combination of a strong foothold in online display advertising...
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Not too long ago, Google Inc seemed little more than a nuisance to Microsoft Corp&#39;s software domination. No more. As Google rapidly rolls out new products, the company best known for its wildly popular search
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NEW YORK - Google Inc., owner of the world's most-used Internet search engine, has introduced interactive advertisements that work like Web pages, allowing clients to target shoppers with more video and images.
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Google Inc. is adding more e-mail security and storage products for businesses, sharpening its aim on a Microsoft Corp. stronghold while the competition between the two rivals also heats up in Internet search and advertising.
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Microsoft and Viacom team up on ads and content, and Google quickly points to the deal as evidence that the online ad market is plenty competitive.
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Best known for its popular search engine, Google is rapidly rolling out new products and muscling into Microsoft's stronghold: the computer desktop. The competition means consumers get more choices and better products.
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Google undeservedly recieves credit for many clicks on the online ads it delivers via its search engine, but Microsoft wants to put a stop to that.