It has been announced that Microsoft will be bringing Live Search to Facebook as part of a new deal. This is not the first time Microsoft and Facebook have been in cahoots, last year the software giants acquired shares in the popular social networking site for $240, Microsoft also supply advertising for Facebook.The new deal will see Microsoft's Live Search function in use for Facebook's site search and, along with internal searches, will include web results as well as paid listings. This partnership can be compared to the deal Google struck with MySpace in 2006, where the Mountain View warriors supplied search and advertising to the flourishing networking site. Google have since indicated that this deal has not been a large money maker for them as advertising revenue generated from social networking sites has failed to live up to the expectations of many industry insiders.
However, additional revenue from advertising is unlikely to be Microsoft's goal here much more likely is the supposition that is a strategic move it hopes will gain them additional search market shares . By integrating Live Search with Facebook Microsoft will be hoping to introduce users to their engine and retain them through the familiarity of Facebook. Earlier this year Microsoft introduced a cash back scheme on Live Search, since its launch they have seen a search usage increase of 15%. Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, has said "Search is one of the starting points on the internet. It's the best place to distribute new internet services to the consumer."
The latest move from Microsoft shows that the company is determined to cut themselves a share of the search-market-pie - how big its piece will be, and whether it will be served with cream, remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, the future seems bright for Facebook at the moment.
