February 21, 2006 Comments
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Ran across an overview of some research earlier today that aims to examine the prime weaknesses of the big three search engines and to consider how a newcomer might be able to take advantage of them. Outsell, Inc.'s latest hot topic report provides a comparison of the business and revenue models, customer usage trends, corporate culture, vulnerabilities and overall market position of MSN, Google and Yahoo.
A quick summary of some of the primary differences between the three:
* Google is, at heart, a search and technology company; hence its evolution is largely marked by a broad range of technology tools and initiatives. Google's other defining characteristic is its almost 100 percent reliance on advertising as a revenue source, via AdWords and AdSense.
* Yahoo! has its roots in human-generated directories and portals, so its initiatives and acquisitions reflect a more "humanistic" approach to providing users with information and tools. Its revenue model is more balanced than Google's, using search advertising, banner ads, and content sales to fuel growth.
* Microsoft, owing to its software roots, continues to seek ways to expand its virtual monopoly on the desktop. The lion's share of Microsoft's revenue comes from software, while MSN generates added revenue via everything from Internet access to content purchases.
The full report, titled HotTopics: Bulking Up At The GYM: How Publishers And Information Providers Can Work With Google, Yahoo!, And MSN" is available for purchase at the Outsell web site.
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