Microsoft's launch of a new Web search engine last week marked the official beginning of its bid to topple Yahoo! and Google from their positions atop the industry. But beyond the battle for dominance, Microsoft's search initiative comes with some practical benefits that promise to help the company's business even if its retooled MSN Search service doesn't ultimately emerge as No. 1 in market share. One of the biggest is advertising revenue. Internet search engines have become large sources of it for Microsoft and other companies, primarily through the keyword-based ads that advertisers pay to place above or alongside standard results.
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