Are Google’s European Union Troubles Driven by Microsoft?

The news part of this story is that the European Commission (EC) has launched an anti-trust investigation against Google. I suspect that this is heard with little surprise considering the amount of chatter recently about Google’s dominance in the marketplace. I would think it is safe to say that Google has been preparing for this day for quite some time and suspecting that the first official volley in this war would be from “across the pond” considering the EC’s apparent obsession with controlling everything with regard to the marketplace. Now, Google is being brought to task for imposing penalties on sites and allegedly being a barrier to trade.

The Telegraph tells us a little more

The investigation comes under the Lisbon Treaty’s “abuse of dominant position” powers and is the first time that Google has been targeted by the European Union.

Telegraph.co.uk can reveal that the Commission has written to Google with a series of questions over how its search functions operate and also questioned the way it sells advertising. It acted after complaints from the UK search site Foundem, a price comparison site, Ciao, an online shopping site owned by Microsoft, and ejustice.fr, a French site which details legal cases and solicitor services.

What is of interest is here is who is bringing the complaints to the forefront. Foundem has a history of going after Google and has been “exposed” in some ways as the site that cried wolf since <a href="http://econsultancy.com/blog/4456-foundem-vs-google-a-case-study-in-seo-fail”>it can be shown why Google doesn’t think the site worthy of high rankings.

The second in that list though is Ciao, which is a Microsoft owned site. Now, we may be getting to the heart of the matter. While Foundem and their complaints can be seen as whining that they should be at the front of the line despite having little or no merit for the claim, the Microsoft connection in this case gets even more complex as we learn

Ciao was bought by Microsoft in 2008 for nearly $500m (£324m) and is now called Ciao Bing, after Microsoft’s search engine. Foundem is a member of ICOMP, an internet pressure group which receives funding from Microsoft.

A spokesman for ICOMP said that it was backed by a number of companies and was only interested in promoting transparency and fair competition on the web.

Whoa there big fella! Foundem is a member of an Internet pressure group that receives funding from Microsoft? If all of this is absolutely true then this whole thing starts to smell pretty funny and the source of the stench may be traced back to Redmond, WA USA. Oh, and for the spokesman’s line of transparency and open competition on the web? C’mon, we’re not that stupid. It looks more like you are the home for wayward web whiners (is that the European version of WWW?).

Google has responded initially by stating

“We’ve always worked hard to ensure that our success is earned the right way, through technological innovation and great products, rather than by locking in our users or advertisers or creating artificial barriers to entry.”

Google went on to further note that the plight of Foundem could be better addressed if they went out and “foundem” some original content. Hey, is that a secret that Google has been keeping from us all these years? . By the way, the penalties have been lifted and Foundem is claiming that their traffic went up 10,000 percent overnight. Geesh, do these guys sell hyperbole on their site?

So while having a 90% market share in the UK is certainly something to raise an eyebrow is it because Google doesn’t let others play or is it because they have the better mousetrap AND nothing, including a Microsoft owned property, can challenge them? If you put any merit in the comments following the article neither Foundem nor Ciao nor the European Union seem to get a lot of love.

So what do you think? Monopoly by Google or manipulation by Microsoft? Do you think this will go anywhere?

Google Still A Distant Second To Baidu in China

When the world looks at areas where the pure numbers are pretty staggering it’s the sheer size and potential of the Chinese market. Let’s face it there are a lot of Chinese folks. So it would only be natural that Google would like a piece of that pie. What is not normal though is the fact that Google is second fiddle by a considerable margin to Baidu, which is acting like the Chinese version of Google in its homeland.

CNNMoney.com reports that Baidu is pretty much putting it to Google. As one should expect though it is probably not wise to count Google out on this one.

At first glance one might readily declare “game over” in the China online search war. Beijing-based Baidu (BIDU) dominates: According to Jennifer Li, Baidu’s chief financial officer, Baidu’s market share for search in China was about 77% in the third quarter, up from 75.6% in the second quarter.

Google (GOOG), she says, lost share in China, dropping to 17% in the third quarter, from about 19% in the second quarter.

So what’s the cause of this disparity? Apparently it’s not Google’s handling of the Chinese language. In fact, they receive pretty good marks on this one. What is likely the biggest contributor that can be seen (meaning there might be, just maybe a little bit, of Chinese government stuff going on here but that is PURE speculation on my part) is something that even Google can’t overcome: time. Google came to the Chinese marketing in 2006 while Baidu has been at it since 2000. That’s a lot of time to get a head start.

What might be interesting to watch is the battle that is developing as Baidu makes a play in the growing mobile market. Google has fared well there but Baidu is making some serious waves in that pool.

And Baidu is trying to extend its search dominance on mobile phones, an area where Google has done well in China, thanks to a search deal with China Mobile, the nation’s largest carrier. In October Baidu announced a deal to provide mobile search to customers of China Unicom’s (CHU) 3G services, and it also is testing a mobile app that features Baidu’s some most popular online tools, including a message board service.

This market will be interesting to watch for sure because the political side of opportunity is one that the world watches very closely. Remember all the Internet ‘issues’ around the Beijing Olympics of 2008? Missteps by anyone outside of the Chinese market are likely to happen and it will likely keep foreign competition at a serious disadvantage. Once again, this is just me thinking out loud based on what has happened in the past.

Baidu is saying that Google is on their radar and not being overlooked.

But no one, least of all Baidu executives, assumes Google is content with its position in China today. “We don’t underestimate their technology or their ability,” says Baidu CFO Li.

As for Google’s plan of attack? Maybe it looks a lot like the ne that it has for Apple elsewhere.

Google’s ambitions in China go well beyond traditional online advertising and search. The company is widely believed to be looking for multiple ways to introduce its Android mobile operating platform in China, and recent reports suggest it may look to open an Android application marketplace in China.

Google most certainly has its work cut out for it. How it fares in China may very well tell a lot about what the company is made of since it is one of the few places where it will need to fight from behind rather than defend from the top.

OpenX Now Angling for Google with Microsoft’s Help

OpenX has long been angling for Google’s online ad dominance. And after a new multi-year deal with Microsoft, announced this morning, they’ll have an even bigger ally in the fight. The partnership has been in trials for over a year, but is now official.

Explains TechCrunch:

Under the agreement, Pasadena-based OpenX becomes a preferred partner to publishers for enterprise ad serving solutions and has agreed to promote Microsoft’s Content Ads monetization products and eventual future products to its own roster of web publisher customers.

OpenX said that publishers usings its recently launched OpenX Market and Ad Server products will be able to use MS’s Content Ads, and that the Redmond software giant will refer potential customers to OpenX.

OpenX Market and Ad Server compete with Google’s Ad Manager product. Display is obviously not Google’s bread and butter (though every little bit helps), and it is OpenX’s.

Interestingly, after last year’s acquisitions, OpenX’s advertising services compete not only with Google’s DoubleClick but also Microsoft’s aQuantive. Perhaps Microsoft doesn’t see them as quite enough of a threat to their advertising business—or perhaps they just want market share so badly that they’re willing to foster internal competition.

What do you think? Will OpenX and Microsoft be able to take on Google?

Google Still Can’t Deliver Real-Time Search; Offers Warmed Up Leftovers Instead

There’s no doubt that Google’s feeling the heat from Twitter. Just about everyone wants to know what Google has planned to address Twitter’s rise in dominance for "real time" search results.

The biggest problem for Google is that it’s built its market share by being the most relevant search engine. How can it balance relevance and ranking with freshness and trending?

Enter Hot Trends for search results.

Google has announced that when your search query matches one of the top 100 fastest rising search terms, you’ll see a graph at the bottom of the search page–complete with data on just how popular it is, how fast it’s rising and…that’s about it, actually.

There are a couple of problems with this integration.

Have you seen what makes it onto Google’s Hot Trends list these days? Allow me to demonstrate Hot Trends in search results, and just how utterly useless it can be, all in one screenshot:

Huh? Acne pillowcase? I’ve seen some bizarre stuff show up in Twitter Trends, but this one tops them all!

So, if this is Google’s response to "real time" search, you have to ask yourself what’s driving this data? Yeah, it’s search queries. Let me explain. When you look at most real time search engines–or Twitter Trends–the data is based on signals, such as what people are discussing or linking to. Right? Well, Hot Trends is based on what people are searching for on Google. So the question becomes this: what prompted the search in the first place? Hot Trends is not Google telling us what content is rapidly making its way into the index. Nope, it’s just what keywords are popular among searchers.

To its credit, Google is not presenting this new feature as its answer to real time search, but it’s subtly implied…

We hope it will help you keep up with everything there’s to know about the latest trends online. No more being out of the loop at your office watercooler!

Actually, we’ve replaced the watercooler with Twitter and Facebook. Google’s still the place we go to to dig deeper into the news we’ve just learned–not the place we go to discover it.

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India (Hearts) Google … Brazil (Hearts) It, Too

No one reading Search Engine Land should be surprised to hear stories about Google’s dominance of the search landscape. But the degree to which Google dominates in some areas is sure to make you raise an eyebrow.
Consider India and Brazil, two growing Internet markets. ComScore released some stunning numbers about what’s happening in those two [...]

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Kai-Fu Lee Leaves Google; Soft Snickering Heard in Redmond

The man that gave Google one of its biggest legal headaches, is leaving the company.

According to the WSJ, Kai-Fu Lee, president of Google’s China operations is leaving Google to work on his own start-up. You may remember that Lee, was smack in the middle of a legal battle between Microsoft and Google over allegations that he breached his employment contract, when he took on the job of helping Google with its efforts in China.

The two companies settled in 2005, and since then Lee helped Google build its Chinese search share to 20%–measly compared to Baidu’s 76% dominance–but still a big improvement for the company.

Of course, Google’s moving quickly to ensure Lee’s departure is not too much of a setback. Lee shoes will be filled by two people–those must have been big boots!–and Google will double the size of its sales force in China.

It will be interesting to see what Lee will do next and if he’ll come clean about his reasons for leaving. I suspect that frustration played a key role in his decision. Google has faced many uphill challenges in China–mostly due to the company’s US roots. If Lee decides to base his start-up in China–and work closely with the Chinese government–he might find less of a hard road to hoe.

Is Google a Habit or the Best Search Option?

I just got back from the SES San Jose show. Good show. It was interesting to see the search world’s “Murderer’s Row” (relax …. it’s a reference to the 1927 New York Yankees batting lineup and not something offensive …. relax) consisting of Google, bing and Yahoo all lined up in the front row of the exhibit hall. Interesting, of course, because you have to wonder what the messages will sound like once the Microhoo co-joining finalizes sometime in the distant future. For now it’s a lot of talk of business as usual etc. etc.

So what is business as usual? SearchEngineLand takes a look at some new comScore data that tries to put some definition to that idea. The comScore report tells us that Google searchers are more loyal but that also begs the question: Is it loyalty or habit? For me personally, I just use Google out of habit but it’s not one that I feel is harmful to me so don’t plan any search interventions on my behalf. Maybe it’s best described as comfort but underneath all of it is the fact that the results are what matter and I have had no truly compelling reason to make a switch at this point. So am I a Google user by habit or choice? I suppose a little of both. One thing I am though is loyal and that is the area that the Microhoo search effort will need excel in if it is to make a dent in Google’s dominance.

The data below shows that the loyalty of Google searchers far outperforms that of the combined scores of Yahoo and Microsoft as they stand currently.

When looking at search share Google is still comfortably out in the lead as comScore notes

In June 2009, Google Sites had a 65.0 percent share of searches in the U.S. core search market, compared to 28.0 percent for Yahoo Sites (19.6 percent) and Microsoft Sites (8.4 percent) combined. Despite lagging considerably in terms of overall search share, the combined searcher penetration of Yahoo! and Microsoft was 73.3 percent, not far behind Google at 84.0 percent. The source of the discrepancy between search share and searcher penetration is that searchers on Google conducted significantly more searches on average in a month (54.5) than did searchers on Yahoo and Microsoft (26.9).

So here we are in the land of numbers but simple observation says it is pretty much a foregone conclusion that Google is still Google and the likelihood of unseating them is, well, pretty unlikely. No matter how people get to Google or why they stay with it, they have a search dominance factor of “a lot’ according to the completely unscientific and not even close to fully thought out Frank Reed Search Index Study of the Moment. I honestly don’t run into people that use Yahoo or bing as their primary search engine. On the rare occasion I do these people often have an anti-Google stance (like those who would use anything other than Microsoft even if it caused them personal harm) which may just be more about emotion than rational thought.

So is Google your habit or your choice? If you use another option tell us why. I need some feedback since my ultra scientific study of one has an overwhelming Google weighting.

The One in Which I Ponder the Chances of Success for Microsoft & Yahoo

Now that we’ve all had time to digest Microsoft’s 10-year deal with Yahoo, it’s time to ask ourselves if this partnership will live up to the hype?

It seems like we’ve been talking about this deal every other day for the past year or more. In fact, digging through the Marketing Pilgrim archives–and ending up 30 pages deep in “Microsoft/Yahoo” rumors–I discovered it was back in September of 2007 that the idea first germinated:

…Under the scenario discussed by top executives, Yahoo would have outsourced that search-advertising activity — which places small text ads next to Web search results — to either Google or Microsoft Corp…

At the time, Yahoo’s then CEO Jerry Yang said there were “no sacred cows” for the company. Then promptly dismissed any notion that the company would give up operating its own search engine.

My, how things have changed.

Now–with the drama behind us and the deal announced–we need to consider if this act of collusion will end up presenting a serious challenge to Google’s dominance. While Microsoft’s Bing.com continues to inch forward with market share, will the general search public flock to the Google alternative–or will it send us deeper into the warm embrace of the search engine we’ve loved for the past decade?

I could see how we might ultimately come to like Bing. It’s got a catchy name, some cool TV ads running, and could provide those that love to live outside the mainstream, a flashy new search engine to evangelize. But, does a partnership with Yahoo actually dilute Bing’s chances of success? I’m not talking about success as measured by an increase in market share–by that measure, the deal is already a winner. I’m talking about real success. The kind of success that doesn’t just come from cannibalizing Yahoo’s existing search traffic, but from honest-to-goodness market share stolen from Google.

That’s where I simply don’t see much chance of a happy ending. I’ve worked for a company that decided it wanted to increase market share by means of acquisitions. Sure, you get to show growth on paper, but that’s not growth that’s sustainable. It pleases the shareholders, but neither the heart or mind are satisfied. Want further proof that buying market share is not sustainable? Take a look at the stagnation going on over at IAC’s Ask.com.

The biggest obstacle now facing Microsoft’s Bing is this: do we consider it a weaker offering, because it had to partner with Yahoo? Or, does the partnership increase its chances of success?

Perhaps the only glimmer of hope for Microsoft is that Yahoo has played this role in a previous life. Remember when all of your searches at Yahoo were powered by Google? Back then, Google was still building its own audience, and the exposure provided by Yahoo was, obviously, valuable to the company. Can Yahoo do the same for Bing?

There are many questions that I’m leaving unanswered. This post is merely a means for me to share my own thoughts on the deal–not to tell you how you should feel about it. Feel free to chime in with your own opinion on the chances of Microsoft and Yahoo truly challenging Google. I look forward to reading them!

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The World According to Google

I knew I should have done something to trademark a saying I use all the time with SMB owners and marketers that  “It’s a Google world and we’re just allowed to live in it.” Ad Age today echoes a similar sentiment in a headline about the fact that Google is not only a dominant player in the US but can be even more dominating around the world.

As we have noted recently, it’s not all of the world that has decided to bow at the feet of the search engine leader. China likes Google but nearly as much as Baidu. The chart below from comScore shows that if there is even a soft spot in the Google plot for world domination via search it is in some Asian countries. As for the rest of the planet well take a look.

While we tend to let our jaws drop at just how big of a spread there is between Google at number one in US search engine share the European numbers will stop you dead in your tracks.

So if you’re Google you’re thinking that this is lock, right? Unfortunately for them, the apparent crushing of the competition in the European search market could work against them as Micro- bing- ahoo seeks the blessing of the EC. You know the EC. They’re the folks who hate it when someone uses free market thinking to win in business. While Europeans may use Google in such large numbers because it is the best option for them (they can choose bing or Yahoo today for search couldn’t they?) one can be sure that the EC will view that reality as something sinister or even cry monopoly. This should make it real easy for the new hybrid on the block (Yah-soo-soft?) to get past the fine folks who know better than to let people make choices based on their own personal needs and tastes. Ad Age says it more succinctly

Google’s dominance in Europe will likely be a strong part of its case when Microsoft and Yahoo seek the blessing of competition officials in Brussels for the deal.

So here’s the real question for those of you reading in European markets. Do you find Google’s dominance offensive? Does Google have such a large share of the market because there are no competent competitors or because it prevents competition? If there was a better option than Google would you use it or would you feel like you couldn’t because Google was ‘in the way’? Does the EC actually speak for you individually or is it hampering your ability to choose what you want?

Microsoft Announces Bing.com, Makes Its First Serious Challenge to Google’s Dominance

Whether it ends up being akin to Custer’s last stand or not, Microsoft has just announced Bing, as it desperately tries to find a way to take market share away from Google.

Whether you love the new name or not–personally, I think it’s a huge improvement on Windows Live Search–you owe it to yourself to go and try Microsoft’s revamped search offering when it launches on June 3. And by “try” I don’t mean enter one search query and make up your mind, I mean give it a solid week or two. You might just find that Bing pleasantly surprises.

At least, it surprised me. I’ve been playing with Bing for a couple of weeks now and I’ve been looking forward to today’s announcement. I’m not sure if Bing is good enough to break my Google habit, but there’s a lot under the hood to make me seriously consider switching from the all powerful, all knowing, Google.

It’s best to think of Bing not as a search engine, but a decision engine–which is exactly how Microsoft is pitching it. While it may seem like a term you create, so as not to appear you’re going head-to-head with Google, I think decision engine is a great way of describing Bing. Microsoft wanted to build a user interface that helped the estimated 42% of us that are constantly unsatisfied with our initial search results, and I think it has achieved that in Bing.

“Today, search engines do a decent job of helping people navigate the Web and find information, but they don’t do a very good job of enabling people to use the information they find,” said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO in a statement about the launch. “When we set out to build Bing, we grounded ourselves in a deep understanding of how people really want to use the Web. Bing is an important first step forward in our long-term effort to deliver innovations in search that enable people to find information quickly and use the information they’ve found to accomplish tasks and make smart decisions.”

Now, before I show you some of the cool new features, let’s acknowledge that Bing clearly draws from the advances made by search engines before it–Ask.com arguably made the first move in changing the “first ten links” approach to search results. That said, I think Bing brings its own personality to the table.

Head-to-Head

OK, so let’s look at a few of the new features. For fun, I’ll start off with a comparison with Google.

So, despite by Carolina Hurricanes losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins, I’m still interested in the Stanley Cup finals. So, let’s start there.

First Google:

Pretty good. We have news, relevant results, and some YouTube videos.

Now Bing:

Better than Google? Let’s see, I have recent scores, relevant results, and you’ll see to the left (and bottom) of the screen that Bing has some neat refining options.

OK, so perhaps you could argue that Bing is just using a different UI, not necessarily better. OK, let’s take a look and some other cool features in our search result, shall we?

While the snippets used by Google and Bing are helpful, what if I could get further information about a web page, without actually leaving my search results? Well, simply move your mouse over each search result and Bing will provide an expanded snippet–even drawing meta data, if available.

What if you’re more of an audio-visual kind of person? Click the “Videos” tab and you’ll not only get video results, but you can mouse over each thumbnail and it plays right there and then!

How about static images? OK, so when you click on “images” you expect to see images of, well, the Stanley Cup. But what if I want to see images of players celebrating with the greatest prize in hockey? Well, Bing will help me find similar images:

Et voila, I can browse similar images until my heart is content.

Not a hockey fan? Here are a few other neat things that come standard with Bing.

Shopping search is built in–complete with user reviews and scoring.

What about travel? Tell Bing your departure airport and destination, and it will help you find the best price and predict if that price is on the rise or fall.

Summary

There’s a lot to like about Bing and really only one thing not to like–it’s owned by Microsoft. Not that it means it should be dismissed, but I know a lot of us will likely not touch anything created by Microsoft. That would be a real shame, because Bing is the best advance in search technology in the past few years. Sure, it’s far from perfect, but it’s equally far from its Live Search predecessor.

I plan on giving Bing a fair shot at replacing Google as my default search engine. It’s got about a 20% chance of succeeding, but that’s a big improvement over Live Search’s “when hell freezes over” chance.

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