Bigmouthmedia Welcomes Microsoft Yahoo Deal As A Serious Challenge
To Google
Released
on: July 29, 2009, 7:15 am
Author: Iain Bruce
Industry: Internet
& Online
Bigmouthmedia
has welcomed reports of a new search partnership between Yahoo
and Microsoft's Bing search engine, stating that the new arrangement
could rejuvenate competition in a market currently dominated by
Google.
Although
details of the deal are as yet unclear, reports from numerous
credible news outlets worldwide suggest that after many months
of negotiation, the global giants are set to unveil an agreement
that will see Yahoo sell search ads under Microsoft's nascent
Bing brand. While estimates of the global market share the partnership
will hold vary from 12% to 30%, Europe's largest independent digital
marketing agency believes that the news will have a positive impact
upon the industry.
"It's
been 18 months since the rumour mill first started touting the
possibility of a deal involving Yahoo and Microsoft, and the industry
as a whole will be delighted to see what's become the search business'
longest-running soap opera finally approaching a conclusion. The
devil will be in the detail, but given the alarming dominance
that Google has held over the market for so long, the prospect
of a serious challenge to their position is good news for everyone,"
said Lyndsay Menzies, Chief Operations Officer at
bigmouthmedia.
"Although
the impact in the UK will be minimal, with the combined entity
still only accounting for a market share of around 5%, competition
in any market is good for consumers. If the partnership succeeds
in growing their market share still further, the renewed challenge
could force Google to become more competitive."
With
the precise details of the agreement still a closely guarded secret,
the news that Yahoo has finally succumbed to Microsoft's advances
has spawned widespread speculation over the deal's possible ramifications.
While the prospect of a serious competitor to Google's Adwords
system is being touted as a move that could help push PPC advertising
prices downwards, other commentators have suggested that the deal
could force the search giant to reconsider its policy against
paying commission to partner agencies.
"There
are still more questions than there are answers about this deal,
but If Yahoo's paid search ads are powered by Bing then we will
have another credible search engine to consider for paid search
budgets. That may result in some instability as bid management
platforms adapt to cope with the new landscape, but it will help
keep cost-per-click prices down," said Andrew Girdwood, bigmouthmedia's
Head of Search.
"But
if Bing is only going to supply Yahoo with organic results then
it still means Yahoo is out of the search game. They'll not be
developing their search engine, are unlikely to return to it and
will in essence become an ad management platform - the long term
effects of which remain to be seen."
About
bigmouthmedia
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe's largest and most experienced
digital
marketing agency and was rated the UK's #1 Search agency for
Search
Engine Optimisation and PPC in the 2009 NMA Marketing Services
Guide.
Bigmouthmedia's
200+ online marketing experts across 12 international offices
maximise online brand exposure for our clients by means of integrated
digital strategies incorporating SEO, PPC, Social Media Marketing,
Affiliate
marketing, Display Advertising, Online PR and Copywriting.
Bigmouthmedia's
multilingual digital solutions deliver outstanding ROI for over
300 world leading brands including British Airways, Tesco, ebay,
Sky, Cisco, BT, Comic Relief, Barclaycard and Europcar.
Bigmouthmedia
also provides up to date daily Digital marketing
news.
For further media information please contact:
Iain Bruce
Media Strategist
bigmouthmedia
51 Timberbush
Edinburgh
EH6 6QH
+44 (0)845 130 8992
twitter.com/bigmouth_aff
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