Who will control search traffic in 1 year?

Will google still hold the reigns in 1 year's time? or will msn or yahoo take over as the majority search traffic holder?

 

I still think it will be Google unfortunately but MSN will definately start getting more and more market share. In my experience its started already.

Yahoo is a lost cause in my opinion and there is no buzz there whatsoever.

* I am subscribing to this thread so I can ressurect it Jan 1st next year to see how accurate it was

 

I think there is a chance that MSN will really give google a run for their money, but I agree about yahoo. Despite some good placings in rankings for key search terms, my yahoo trafic has always been miniscule compared to google. yahoo have diluted their business model too much IMO

Cool

 

I went for MSN.

They have some proper cash to burn on promoting their search. They have a HUGE customer base, pretty much all of them probably willing tu use MSN search if it's decent. And when the integrate their search (though probably clashing with EU law again) into all their software (OS, Office etc.) then they have 90%-ish of regular Computer users waiting to use their product.

When Bill thinks the time is right, he can cut the market share pie in whatever division he wants almos with the flick of a button.

 

I don't disagree however 10 months isn't a lot of time for MSN to actually surpass Google.

The biggest swing will be in knowledgable searchers who will quickly abandon Google, however I know a lot of newbies that just "Google" something. When I ask them why they still use Google, its usually "I dunno, I just do"

These are the people that have to go to MSN and get used to a new interface for MSN to actually pass Google and these things take time.

By the way - you left out ask

 

As soon as longhorn comes out with its integrates search and web browser. plus as mentioned search integrated into Office. MSN will take the mantle. Bill Gates said yesterday that the current way search is handled at the moment is rubbish, and he (Microsoft) had made a monumental error in allowing Google to control it. He says within 3 years he will have changed the face of search.

So I would say in 12 months time it will be much as it is now, but with MSn having a larger share. AOL hold the key to all this IMO, whoever gets AOl search is going to be the Main player.

 

I think google will still be #1 but msn wont be far behind, reason being that when people want to search google is the name that comes to mind.

The main reason they are likely to search from msn or yahoo will be because the search box will be right infront of them. Like in Y they have the search box in the top right of nearly every page.

But in the end it will be Bill who is #1, I believe what he said about search in 3 years will be true

 

Look for Google to acquire other Search Engines soon to maintain their leadership.

I would look for a lot of mergers and consolidation in the next few years in the industry with different new and strong brands emerging.

Search engines are all in the race to move into video search as television and the internet converge, look for Google to come up with something to compete with ITV (microsoft internet television) in the next year or so also.

Yahoo has invested millions in Hollywood recently so it is going to be a much different landscape a year from now versus what we have come to know.

 

I'm confident that if Bill wants it bad enough "sooner or later" he's going to get it.

IMO, Microsoft has two (2) huge advantages: Advertising and Customer Base.

 

He also wants to control the OS in your computer and he is losing share and will continue to lose share and control over computing since open source and grid computing via data centers (no need to own software or your own CPU to compute) are going mainstream quickly.

Even MAC and IPOD's and Mini Mac's are taking the world by storm, M$ is not the only game in town man.

 

You know I couldnt have said it better myself so I wont try, but to add a little more to this, MSN can take what they want. Bill is a very competitive person, at least in the poker games I have seen him in. MSN can spend more dollars just on their search than google could spend for their whole company. I see oneday ..please dont slam me for this lol...but MS buying out Google or the company that does buy google.

 

You guys seem to forget one thing, that IBM and Google share the same research facility at Stanford, IBM and Google are going in very similar directions (data center/grid computing/computing on demand) and they are a better match. IBM is already in video search and is an enterprise search monster.

The government would never let M$ acquire Google as M$ is already a convicted monopolist.

Gates has competition that is ahead of him, not the other way around.

 

This brings up another point. Until now Google has really been the only company that was heads above any of its competition for search engines. Now that Bill has made up his mind to compete, Google is toast. Google will now IMHO be the follower instead of the leader. MS has more money for R&D than google could ever come up with even if they launched another 50 IPOs.

As you stated google is going to try and come up with something to match MSN- microsoft internet television, once MS starts to consentrate on their search engine to surpass all others, once again IMHO I dont think anyone is going to be able to keep up with them.

 

IBM however will stay with their bread and butter so to speak. IBM has several very nice contracts with MS, I could not see IBM jumping into bed with Google because of the income they could lose from MS.

 

LVH, take my word for it MSN search will never be number 1, they are not number 1 now and the only way they will be is with the television factor and they can only do this by a monopoly on the ITV OS.

They are working on this monopoly factor in cable TV/Broadband OS with PC-less hardware and OS.

But they will not be the only game in town as I mention.

PS: LVH, IBM and Microsoft are arch enemies, where do you get this from?

 

Right, I agree...

On the otherhand, LongHorn, HUGE advertiding campaign, and large amounts of capital, could in theory push MSn to that top spot....

I don't really want to get involved in the GG/IBM merger thing (Just don't see it happening), but I do think that we can all expect great things from the Stanford crew...

 

McDonalds advertises everyday also, but does that make you rush in to buy a hamburger, not me.

Microsoft is like the Titanic, heralded as the greatest ship ever to sail the oceans, but when it hit the iceberg even the captain ate his words (even God could not sink this ship).

Gates and his flawed OS can not hide behind a curtain of false advertising, as all of us know, it should be called LONGBUG

 

I'll second the thought that Google will stay #1, but I would not be surprised to MSN equal or surpass Yahoo's share of the market by the fourth quarter of this year. They've got money and motivation, and we've seen what they've done in the past with money and motivation. Plus, I rather like their results better than Yahoo's - less spammy...

 

IBM from what I understand has a contract for services with MS. Please do not hold me to this but I am about 95% positive. Consumers are not as savvy as most on this forum, so therefore just as google is a household name with these consumers for search, MS is a household name with these consumers for OS. Once MSN turns on the marketing giant they have, MS and MSN will not only be a household name for OS but also search.

You use the example of McDonalds. Would you say McDonalds has the best hamburger? I wouldnt, but yet who sells the most hamburgers in the world...McDonalds. Its not because they are the best but, it is a household name and they have more marketing dollars than their competition. MS is the same way, they may not be the best but they have that almighty marketing giant dollar behind them and they have the name.

The world isnt fair and the man with the money makes the rules, I remeber hearing that somewhere..lol and since Google couldnt hold Bills Gates jock strap I dont see google competing with MSN once he decides to turn on the juice, no matter who Google joins forces with.

 

Microsoft has grown over the years by pressuring computer makers to adopt the Windows OS, but this is going to backfire on them soon as more companies like Dell and IBM move to Linux OS.

The only reason M$ has the market share they do is by their predatory monopolist stance that is now being undermined by their own defective code and the flawed OS/IE that they continue to place layer upon layer of new programs of code (MS antispyware, AV, anti-malware) of so called protection on top of the already bloated defective OS foundation.

Their day has come and is going soon as even Apple with new innovative products will take share from them in addition to the open source and data center trends.

The search war you all talk about is becoming more of an OSwar by the day.