C’mon Microsoft — Say You’re In Search Because You Love It, Not Want To Earn From It

Sigh. Reading Stephen Ballmer’s latest "rally the troops" memo over yet another Microsoft reorganization, I just want to scream at the man and the company in general that they’ll never win at search if they don’t get it through their heads that it’s not about selling ads, but serving searchers. Actually, I did kind of […]

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Sigh. Reading Stephen Ballmer’s latest "rally the troops" memo over
yet another
Microsoft
reorganization
, I just want to scream at the man and the company in
general that they’ll never win at search if they don’t get it through their
heads that it’s not about selling ads, but serving searchers.

Actually, I did kind of scream at Microsoft back in June, when I was
asked to do a talk there. Primarily for those involved in the webmaster
tools area, I called it "Tough Love For Microsoft Search" and might
eventually turn it into a post. One of my key slides had these bullet
points:

You Don’t Seem To Love Search

  • A chore? Search feels like something you (as a company) have to do
    but don’t want to
     
  • Part of the advertising dollars you’re after rather than a core
    service
     
  • Compare and contrast…

My next slide went on to compare Google’s tag line to what Microsoft has
been pitching these days:

Google:
Search, Ads & Apps

Microsoft:
Software + Services

Google is first and foremost about search. Microsoft, which wants to
compete against Google in this crucial area, doesn’t even mention the word
as part of its mission tag or whatever you want to call it.

You see that again in the

memo
from Ballmer:

Software plus services: Some people think software plus services is all
about search. But it’s really about changing the way software is written
and deployed.

OK, glad we’ve cleared that up. Software + Services isn’t about search.
It’s about software. Of course, search isn’t software, which was another of
my slides I presented to Microsoft. They seem to think search is just
some type of application they need to write, rather than a service they
should be providing.

I can’t quite get the distinction across as well as I’d like, but the
core point to me is that search isn’t something I’m going to install. It’s
not Search 2003 that becomes Search 2005, then Vista in the traditional
upgrade cycle that Microsoft is used to — it doesn’t play to what I suspect
is the core institution framework that Redmond seems used to. Microsoft, by
viewing and attacking search as a software problem, may be slowing itself
down.

I’ll try to expand on this more in the future, especially as I find ways
to either support the idea or perhaps debunk it. But for now, let’s see what
else the memo has about search….

Google: We continue to compete with Google on two fronts—in the
enterprise, where we lead; and in search, where we trail. In search, our
technology has come a long way in a very short time and it’s an area where
we’ll continue to invest to be a market leader. Why? Because search is
the key to unlocking the enormous market opportunities in advertising, and
it is an area that is ripe for innovation
.

The bolded part is mine. Why’s Microsoft doing search? To make money off
of ads. Very inspirational, folks. Makes me as a searcher want to get right
out there and start using your product. Why don’t you try this for your next
ad:

Live Search: Use It, So Microsoft Can Make More Money Than Google

I know this is an internal memo, OK? But occasionally I see internal
things from Google, plus I’ve talked to lots and lots of people at Google
over the years at all levels. What you pretty much never hear is that
they’re doing search to make money. The
mission isn’t:

Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and
useful so we earn money.

No, Google mission statement ends at "useful." Yes, I know inherently
Google does want to earn money. I even know that when Google says doing
what’s best for the user is doing what’s best for Google — that’s still a
mercenary statement. It’s kind of like saying "by not being evil, people
will trust us more, so we can earn more."

Still, that’s not what goes out to the troops from Google — “we have to
win in search to make money.” What seems to go out is that Google wants to
build excellent search products, that it wants to help people to find
things, that even as the company grows in sometimes
worrying ways,
there’s still an essence that it’s doing search to help people first, make
money second.

If Microsoft really wants to win, I think they need to find this same
type of spirit. That from the top down, they need leaders who say we’re
doing search because first and foremost, search is an important thing that
Microsoft thinks it can do better. And that if it does search better — or
at least as well as Google — then people in general will benefit from
strong competition and better access to information. And yes, because aside
from this, search can help Microsoft grow in the advertising space. Just
don’t make that the main reason, please.

Further in the memo we get this:

In the coming years, we’ll make progress against Google in search first
by upping the ante in R&D through organic innovation and strategic
acquisitions. Second, we will out-innovate Google in key areas—we’re
already seeing this in our maps and news search. Third, we are going to
reinvent the search category through user experience and business model
innovation. We’ll introduce new approaches that move beyond a white page
with 10 blue links to provide customers with a customized view of their
world. This is a long-term battle for our company—and it’s one we’ll
continue to fight with persistence and tenacity.

Nothing new there, just stuff Microsoft has been saying. We’re just waiting to
see delivery. But if they wanted to move beyond 10 blue links, why again did
they let Steve
Berkowitz
go? He, along with Jim Lanzone, helped Ask do more than any
other search engine to go beyond 10 blue links — to the degree that I’ve
joked Lanzone
deserves royalties on the phrase.

If Microsoft really wants to do something, how about a senior vice
president who is in charge of search. Not VP of "Search, Portals &
Advertising" as is the case with Satya Nadella. Not VP of "Online Services &
Windows Business Group" as with Bill Veghte. Not "Advertiser and Publisher
Solutions" as with Brian McAndrews. Just search. Someone at the very top who
is in charge of overseeing the very best search offering Microsoft can
deliver, independent of Windows Live, Office, Windows, Vista, and all the
other Microsoft baggage out there.

Finally, yes, Yahoo was covered in the memo:

Yahoo: Related to Google and our search strategy are the discussions we
had with Yahoo. I want to emphasize the point I’ve been making all
along—Yahoo was a tactic, not a strategy. We want to accelerate our share
of search queries and create a bigger pool of advertisers, and Yahoo would
have helped us get there faster. But we will get there with or without
Yahoo. We have the right people, we’ve made incredible progress in our
technology, and we’ll continue to make smart investments that will enable
us to build an industry-leading business.

Well, at least Microsoft isn’t playing the “Nah, we don’t want Yahoo” game.
After coming back
to Yahoo so many times, it’s pretty clear they’re going to keep trying. But
that also doesn’t support the entire "tactic" pitch.

Look, acquiring a major company like Yahoo and all the hassle and
integration that comes with it IS a strategic move, not a short-term
tactical one. And as long as Yahoo sits out there in the limbo pool,
Microsoft’s non-Yahoo strategy doesn’t remain believable. Both companies
feel locked in the grip of waiting on each other. Far better if Microsoft
would just get back to it being one thing or the other — do you want Yahoo?
If so, go get them. If you don’t, then don’t leave the possibility sitting
out there. It’s paralyzing your efforts and believability in the search
space, not strengthening them.

For more, see
related discussion
on Techmeme.

Postscript:

MICROSOFT ANALYST DAY: CEO Steve Ballmer Tries To Save His Reputation

and

Ballmer seeks to justify Microsoft’s bottomless-pit online spending

cover Microsoft execs talking about search in today’s analyst meeting. Top
points to me:

  • Apple is the only competitor attacking them on the Windows front. [In
    reality, as

    Tim O’Reilly
    and others have pointed out, the web itself is a platform
    that is challenging Windows. If I use "cloud-based" apps like Yahoo Mail,
    Google Docs and so on, I don’t need software that’s locked to one specific
    platform (Windows). And so yes, I can go Mac — or Linux or whatever.]
     
  • There will be no paper in 10 years. [Things like that make it hard to
    believe anything that’s being said. Paper’s not going away.]
     
  • Search is apparently incredibly unprofitable for Microsoft right now.
    A big reason is how much Microsoft has to pay on R&D and marketing itself.
    And this is seen as an investment in the future.
     
  • Search is apparently a two horse race between Google and Microsoft,
    with Yahoo no longer a player. Odd, given the Yahoo horse is still in
    second place ahead of Microsoft by at least a furlong.
     
  • The Yahoo purchase was a tactical move, not strategic. See my comments
    above on this.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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