Search and Ad platforms uniting at Microsoft

With search dominated by Google, many providers are looking for a solution. Microsoft is uniting search and advertising platforms in an effort to provide consumers and advertisers with a one-stop location, trying to raise their profile in the industry.

by Kristina Knight

Search offerings are huge in today's online world. Advertisers are spending unprecedented amounts of their advertising budgets on paid search, pay-per-click and cost-per-action ads. In turn, consumers are logging on in droves to research information online and many are using search platforms to do so.

According to the latest numbers from Nielsen//Netratings, Google surpassed all other search providers, wrangling 55% of February searches. Their closest competitors were Yahoo (20.7%) and Microsoft (9%).

"Aligning Search and our Ad Platform efforts under a single R&D leader is essential as we drive advances in our search, commerce, and payments infrastructure, and evaluate change-the-playing-field opportunities," said one Microsoft spokesman (via MediaPost). "We must also move forward aggressively in considering how and where Search and ad-supported offerings fit within and across the entire Microsoft product and services portfolio."

By placing one team in charge of research and development for both the search and ad platforms of Microsoft, the company is hoping to gain some ground on search leaders Google and Yahoo. Satya Nadella, current vice president of Microsoft Business solutions, will head the group. The transition should happen in April.