New York — Microsoft Corp. said on Tuesday its Office Live will use search advertising tools from Ask.com to help small businesses reach consumers on the Internet.
Microsoft Office Live is Internet-based software that allows small businesses to create Web sites, e-mail accounts and other applications.
“Small businesses that buy ads from Microsoft Office Live will see their search listings appear on Web sites operated by Ask.com and its partners, in addition to Microsoft’s Windows Live and MSN.com sites.”
Microsoft is adding the Ask Sponsored Listings to the Microsoft adManager Beta PPC search advertising service. Microsoft’s adManager allows you to purchase and manage pay per click advertising directly from the Microsoft Office Live platform. Ask Sponsored Listings is joining the MSN network and MSN Live Search as official distribution sources for Microsoft Office Live customers PPC ads.
Ask Sponsored Listings (ASL) is an automated, open-auction system that allows search marketers and businesses to buy, manage, and optimize PPC and contextual advertising campaigns on the ASL publisher network, which includes the Ask.com search engine, according to Michael Schultz, U.S. business and marketing lead for Microsoft Office Live.
“This is one of the first times you have had search engines joining together to meet the needs for small businesses,” said Schultz. “What is significant about Ask.com getting together with Microsoft Office Live — is we are actually making it simple and easy for small business to understand and take advantage of search marketing.
“To be able to do things like contextual targeting opens up another avenue that lets small businesses to get their message out.”
Microsoft’s adManager helps small businesses manage the pay-per-click advertising process.
Once an account is set up with Microsoft adManager, you can immediately select keywords to create ads and set up bid amounts. Microsoft adManager will work within your budget, as well as target the campaign at the local or national level. In addition, Microsoft adManager will show results through reports that describe which keywords are driving customers to your Web site.
Microsoft Office Live is a complete, affordable set of easy-to-use Internet-based software and services that help small businesses attract new customers, keep in touch with existing customers and easily manage their business from virtually any location.
Office Live users will be able to view and manage their keyword advertising accounts directly from an adManager interface within the product that will give them the option of purchasing ads on MSN, Live Search or Ask Sponsored Listings, Schultz said.
By combining the power of software plus services, Microsoft Office Live helps small businesses establish a professional Web presence, stay in touch with their customers, and easily access company information from one complete online location. More information is available at http://www.officelive.com/.
The deal could make Microsoft a more attractive service provider for businesses contemplating a paid search campaign. The company’s Web sites captured about 13% of all search traffic in June, according to market watcher Comscore. The addition of Ask.com’s sites to its paid search service will expose Microsoft’s customer listings to an additional 5% of search traffic.
That takes Microsoft’s network a step closer to Yahoo, which in June captured 25.1% of all search traffic, and Google, which grabbed 49.5% of traffic for the month, according to Comscore.
Although the deal between Ask and Microsoft comes 15 months after former Ask CEO Steve Berkowitz left the company to head MSN for Microsoft, the partnership was already being set in motion at that time and was not affected by his move.
Schultz also played down the importance of two separate search firms joining together to combine their services, saying “it is not a question about bringing in competition; it is about bringing in value. The Live and MSN properties are going to be able to stand on their own. All we are doing is bringing in additional capabilities.”
With its software business under pressure from providers of open source and Web-based applications, Microsoft is looking for ways to boost its revenue from online advertising. In its most recent third quarter, the company said sales of online services — which include paid search listings — increased 11% to $623 million.
However, some industry experts believe that despite the two well known companies of Microsoft and Ask joining together, their combined resources will still pale in comparison to the market share and reach of Google and Yahoo and the greater amount of advertising inventory they control.
“A partnership with Ask is a small deal. It does nothing to threaten Google or Yahoo,” said Andrew Goodman, principal, Page Zero Media, a paid search marketing firm. Goodman said that giving small businesses access to both companies’ networks will only “address 15 percent of searches, so you are still going to have to go use Google and Yahoo.”
“The spending on ads ultimately derives from the overall search market share,” Goodman added. “No distribution strategy for people wanting to spend ad dollars will increase your advertising inventory; you need inventory.”
Given its importance to the company’s future, analysts will be watching that number closely when Microsoft reports fourth quarter earnings on Thursday.