Search Engine Wars: Microsoft-Yahoo Against Google

Google has long been the leader in search engines, but with the arrival of Bing, things have been a little different. Bing doesn’t pose a huge threat to Google at the moment, but they soon could. Microsoft and Yahoo are working on a deal that will help both the underdogs rise above the search engine giant.

While the details are still fairly sketchy, it looks like Microsoft will be merging with Yahoo for a ten year term. During this time, Yahoo will be using Bing, Microsoft’s latest search engine which has turned out to be surprisingly useful despite doubts from many before it was released. Microsoft, in turn, will be selling search advertising worldwide for both companies. If the deal pans out, then it really could end up posing a threat to Google.

What does all this mean for the average business website? Well, until now, most people have been gearing their SEO toward Google. However, if Bing shows itself as a worthy player, you’ll need to consider optimizing your website for both search engines to ensure maximum traffic. Bing doesn’t work like Google and while the algorithms of the newest search engine on the block are still being figured out, it’s already clear that search engine optimization is going to take a turn.

Some experts are suggesting dual landing pages, with one optimized for Bing, while the other is optimized for Google. This is actually a technique that was used frequently before Google took over the world of search engines and became the only search that internet marketers and business people took into consideration.

Whether Microsoft and Yahoo make their deal final or not, it’s a good idea to start considering how well your website would perform if Google were not at the head of the pack.