MSN releases new search engine details
23 March 2004
Microsoft has announced plans to start up a new engine for its MSN Search service this July.
The computer giant intends to change the way it displays text advertisements that are listed alongside search results as part of the new service.
Paid listings, or advertisements that piggyback onto search results, have become a hugely profitable component of the search industry, estimated to be worth $2 billion in 2004. The new MSN system will more clearly distinguish paid ads from organic search results as of July 1st. MSN said it will display paid listings separately at the top and to the right of search results generated by its search engine.
"We're really close to finding out what really strikes consumers as the most relevant search results," said Karen Redetzki, an MSN product manager.
She explained that MSN will list three paid listings at the top of every search result, of which at least two will be advertisements sold directly by MSN. Currently, Microsoft's paid listings are sold through an intermediary called Overture Services and the company intends to continue the partnership.
Microsoft's new product is likely to fuel competition between MSN, Google and Yahoo for the coveted search market. The new MSN service will reportedly feature a revamped search engine with better algorithms.
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