Bing.com, Microsoft’s most recent attempt to take some of Google’s search marketing share, launched at the end of May. Prior to launch, the industry speculated for weeks on the name, the technology and the obvious — can a Microsoft property usurp Google’s reign? Microsoft Search, formerly known as MSN or Live has existed for years, but always in third place. As recently as April 2009, comScore reported that Microsoft only had an 8.2% share, while the majority was, as always, monetized by Google (64.2%). Yahoo! (20.4%), Ask (3.8%) and AOL (3.4%) make up the rest. Microsoft has tried to increase share many times before, even launching a “pay-to-search” campaign in 2008 which compensated users with cash rebates. Despite the effort, Microsoft’s 2008 share actually dropped by the year’s end. A few nuances in the new platform may increase Microsoft’s user base moving forward, though overall the industry is skeptical.
Bing offers various options for recommended queries and on page search functionality, both of which can be found occasionally in beta on Google, but are not consistent functionality. In particular, for branded drug searches, the side bar seems to deliver a more comprehensive research experience for patients. For example, a search on Boniva serves up options for side effects, contraindications, and patient assistance, whereas on Google, a patient would not get these results. It will be interesting to see how these categories aid or impede patient decisions overtime.
Bing has also added extra real estate for website description, something that benefits both users and marketers alike, and is not found on any other major engine. A hover section on the right-hand bar pops out with copy pulled directly from the listed website. This offers a few more inches to get the marketing message across. Though one cannot directly control what appears in this box, search engine optimization and succinct copy writing can target this “free” real estate.
Interestingly, this right-hand box could serve the pharma industry in particular. The implications of the 14 FDA letters released in May have made it increasingly difficult to manage paid search simply because of lack of ad space. This additional 2″ box of text could potentially serve as a rich-media-type-expansion for important safety information. Though it is not currently used in this manner, Bing clearly proves that this functionality could exist. If Microsoft went down this path, giving pharma marketers an exclusive safe haven for search marketing, they could surely pull off greater than 8.2% market share. To stay relevant, Google and Yahoo! would have to reconfigure their current technology, algorithms and page layouts to offer the same functionality. For once, Microsoft might have a jumpstart on the technology – now all they need is the market share.
Read more about pharma search marketing restrictions at www.rtcrm.com/whitepapers.
Comments are closed.