Microsoft/Yahoo Against Google?

May 3rd, 2006

Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Watch talks about Yahoo and Microsoft getting together in some way to challenge Google.  He brings up some very good reasons that it might makes sense for them to work together because both have their various strengths and weaknesses of going up against Google’s Search/Adwords/Adsense platform.

That’s fine, I think it could potentially help both companies although there might be some general brand confusion depending on what they do.

Either way though, it still feels like they’re playing catch up to Google.  Instead of trying to catch up on their own, they’d be trying to combine their strengths to battle Google on the Search/Adwords/Adsense platform.  I’m not sure that’s the right strategy.  I think the right strategy would be to innovate to the next level.  Is the Adwords/Adsense model really the best advertiser/publisher model possible?  I wish the Yahoo Publisher Network didn’t feel like a watered-down Adsense with slightly different features.  I think many publishers would have loved to see something innovative that made it a more compelling solution than Adsense, besides just being an alternative to it.

How do you innovate?  Flip media on it’s head.  Change the way the game is played.  Be open, be efficient, be transparent, put as many people together as possible.

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Entry Filed under: Ad Networks, Advertising, Google, Microsoft, Random, Yahoo