As the world of search evolves with every new technological advancement, Google remains the king of the hill with a substantial portion of the market. Microsoft, the software giant, has launched a few assaults on search in the past, but to no avail. In their latest attempt to battle away at Google's slice of the online ad market, Microsoft has invested $80 to $100 million in an ad campaign for Bing. This is a huge campaign, especially compared to Google's $25 million spend on all of its advertising last year. Last year, Microsoft spent $361 million on advertising alone. Google has never faced an opponent with guns this big before.

The advertising blitz will include online, television, print and radio. This is at a time when most companies are trimming down their traditional media buys and staffing. Apparently there is word from the inside that the strategic messaging will not be targeting Google or Yahoo specifically. Instead, they will be focusing on the idea the search engines aren't as user-friendly as they should be to completely solve the problems brought to the search bar. Microsoft is hoping that people will change their search behavior and switch to Bing.

Data does show that about 65% of online users are satisfied or very satisfied with online search. Microsoft, however, sees opportunity rather than deterrence. Their own research suggests that 42% of searches require refinement, while 25% of users are clicking the back button. They want to create the need like Apple did with the iPhone. People didn't know that their lives were missing a touch-screen phone with online capabilities and applications. Through advertising, Apple was able to show the experience and create a new standard for phones.

There is still a strong foundation of industry experts who believe that no amount of advertising is going to change the majority of search behavior. It is the quality of search results that make the difference, not the product. Apple's iPhone would have bombed, had the user experience hadn't been consistent with the iMac. If Microsoft's Bing doesn't produce quality search results, it will be a monumental failure. Google built its brand on the user experience with little to no ad support and has always been consistent with giving us what we want to find on the web.

Advertising only works if the product is able to back it up. Branding a search engine is a tough army to build, where relevance is the artillery and brand evangelists are your war heroes. Throwing a big pile of money at search is arguably not a great solution for any brand to take on Google, but only time will let us learn from the lessons of Microsoft. Volacci is the leading Drupal SEO company and very passionate about your online success. By the end of your contract you will have at least as much additional business from your web site as you spend on our services... or we'll work for free until you do