MSN Paid Search

MSN recently introduced MSN adCenter, what they call “the next generation online advertising platform from Microsoft…” The first product offering from adCenter is the MSN Paid Search solution, encroaching further on Yahoo! and Google’s PPC cash cow.

MSN’s paid search product will be the first component of MSN adCenter, a broad toolset that will enable ad placement throughout their entire network. The program is currently testing in Singapore and France, with a U.S. beta launch set for this coming October, according to Joe Doran, senior director, MSN.

MSN Keywords will begin an invitation-only test with 500 advertisers and SEM’s. New advertisers will be rolled in following the test period. There are over 5,000 people already registered, so I suggest registering your company now at: http://advertising.msn.com/searchadv/LeadForm.asp.

MSN presently gets their PPC listings through competitor, and current partner, Yahoo! Their agreement expires next summer, which gives Microsoft plenty of time to test and rollout their new system. MSN already offers an alternative advertising option to Yahoo’s PPC ads called Featured Sites, where ads can be displayed at the top of the search results. This program is only open to advertisers spending at least $75,000 a year however. Microsoft plans to phase out Featured Sites once MSN Keywords is live and out of testing.

According to eMarketer Inc., the market for contextually and search relevant ads is projected to rise 40% this year to $5.4 billion in the U.S. With so much money at stake, the competition is heating up. Not only is Yahoo! taking a hit with MSN launching their own PPC program, but Google looks to soon be losing a syndication partner in Ask Jeeves as well. Additionally, with Yahoo! entering the contextual targeting market– Google, who currently dominates the space with their AdSense product, may start feeling some heat soon as well.

Is three a crowd? Not really. Most PPC advertisers will most likely open up an MSN Keywords account. Although Google and Yahoo! own almost three-fourths of the search market, MSN is still a good number three, with enough volume to merit managing a separate account. As more search engines and content sites move away from syndication partnerships in favor of running their own ad platforms, advertisers will increasingly seek out support for the growing complexity and management of the various programs. SEM firms offering anything from search analytics software to complete PPC management will continue to grow in support of the burgeoning industry.