16 April 2009 | Author: L. Sutherland Head of Media Content

Microsoft's Cashback sure isn't a search cash-cow

Microsoft has long been putting money where its mouth is when it comes to its Live Search Cashback programme, a scheme that has been paying off in some ways more than others, and recent moves show the company continues to support its initiative.

Last year, Microsoft raised eyebrows - and questions - when it controversially launched Cashback. This week, the company's announcement that it has now unified the programme completely with Live Search Products surprised no one.

Live Search Products is a retail comparison site whereas Cashback (previously hosted on the Microsoft owned Jellyfish shopping site) is a scheme that rewards users with money for choosing to click through and buy on hosted ads. Presumably, Microsoft hopes that the union of the two will not only unify its services but that it will again boost the ad revenue that's been growing since Microsoft announced the initiative.

According to industry news site TechCrunch, Microsoft reported a 30 per cent increase in Cashback use last autumn and 20 of the web's top 50 US retailers were participating n the programme. But while ad revenue is nothing to be sniffed at, it seems that the other intention for Cashback - that of growing Microsoft's presence in the search sphere - has been less successful.

In the month following Cashback's launch, Microsoft searches rose 15 per cent but, since then, the search engine's market share has returned to more or less its previous position - around 9 per cent of the market, barely a scratch on Google's mammoth 62 per cent.

It seems that Microsoft's attempts to fully break into the search market have so far been destined for failure, but the dogged technological corporation has refused to give up trying. And where Cashback hasn't managed to succeed, maybe the much discussed Kumo rebrand will have a chance.

Judging by the stir leaked screenshots and rouge Kumo traffic caused among industry professions, there are plenty of players waiting to witness Microsoft's next move. What Microsoft will really want to know, though, is how many of them will be willing to change their search habits for the sake of a shiny new interface - especially if they weren't willing to for cold hard cash.

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