MSN-Facebook deal 'a smart move'
Wednesday, 30, Jul 2008 08:31
Microsoft's deal to offer its search services on Facebook is a "great deal" for it, and a chance to showcase its capabilities, analysts have said.
The two technology giants are planning to combine in a search and advertising deal, meaning that searches made by Facebook users in America will go through MSN's search system.
According to the New York Times, this could be a "lift" to Microsoft's search engine, which is struggling to keep up with Google and Yahoo!.
Greg Sterling from Sterling Market Intelligence, a research and consulting company, said MSN search suffered because people have not been exposed to it.
"Familiarity and inertia keep people using what they use on the web," he added to the publication.
Principal analyst for Forrester Research Shar VanBoskirk commented: "This is a great deal for Microsoft. They have some really smart search technologies but there just aren't a lot of people using them."
According to Microsoft, a good positioning in MSN's organic search results builds credibility and helps attract more customers.
Microsoft already owns a five per cent stake in Facebook and has an exclusive agreement for the management of banner ads.
