Microsoft says that Live Search Products and Live Search Cashback have now been unified into a single experience. You can now access Cashback on Live Search Products page, which is Microsoft’s comparison shopping vertical site. Microsoft has migrated Cashback from the Jellyfish platform (the social shopping site that Microsoft purchased in 2007) to the Live Search platform.
Last year, Microsoft launched the Live Search Cashback program, which gives users monetary incentives to click through and buy products from the ads they’re shown. It was controversial since the move to gain market share from Google was so drastic and seemingly desperate.
The Cashback program didn’t have much of an effect on Microsoft’s search, with its marketshare initiallly bumped up before hovering around 9 % (which is what it was before the program), and Google’s share remaining at nearly 62 %. But there was a silver lining to the program for Microsoft; its ad revenue from Live Search increased. Last fall, Microsoft reported a 30% growth in Cashback offers made to customers, with 20 of the web’s 50 top online retailers in the U.S. participating in the program.
Live Search Products was launched in 2006 as a commerce-only search engine/shopping comparison engine to give users more relevant results when looking to buy items online. Live Search Products was launched to be a direct competitor to Froogle, which was reborn as Google Search Products.
Microsoft’s Live Search name has gone through several rebranding efforts of its search site in the effort to keep up with the search capacities of Yahoo and Google. It’s pretty easy to lose track of all the different names Microsoft has tested for its search engine. There was MSN Search, Microsoft Search, Live Search and possibly Windows Live Search. Rumors have been flying around about the new name, which appears to be Kumo, which means “cloud” or “spider” in Japanese. So perhaps Live Search Products will soon be Kumo Products?
Looks like more desperation from Redmond … when will they just give up?
Your comment was less useful than a microsoft search result.
Don’t worry, they have enough cash, they will just buy Yauba http://www.yauba.com and then attack Google from the privacy protection angle … which is Google’s Achilles’ heel.
You heard it here first!
I disagree.
Microsoft has a habit of buying companies and messing them up.
I can’t imagine what would happen to Yauba if Microsoft bought them.
They would probably put on just as much user tracking stuff that good ol’Google/Doubleclick does.
Yauba, whatever you do, please stay independent! We need companies like you to stand up for privacy rights.
This is pathetic it really is. Do they not understand why people use Google and not them. Do they think that bribing users with incentives will actually turn the game around for them? Really? Honestly?
The point is to deliver accurate and precise search results in the blink of an eye. Google does it. If Microsoft want to increase ad revenue they need to give us what Google does and do it better. Wasting time on this marketing bullshit cashback crap is a joke.
it’ll work, to an extent. I’ll google for info, then buy through cashback? who’s stupid enough not to save some cash??
++khanh
I might know about what products I want to buy form other services, websites, etc…but nowadays, I’ll always check the Microsoft Cashback website before I make a purchase. In the last year, I’ve received about $450 just from being a smart(er) shopper.
Live Cashback does work…!!!
I got $148 in Jan From live cash after I purchased HDTV 46″ form Circuit City site going from Live…!!!
$140 is a BIG amount…and I am sure my next shopping site would be LIVE!!!
Nowadays 9 out of 10 times…I find Live search results to be matching goog’s one…!!!
I meant $148 above…!
I think I can, I think I can
Hehe.. I can see Kumo Products working.. sounds catchy.
Another name? Maybe part of the reason they can’t gain marketshare is because no one can remember what name they’re using this week.
Cashback is a great site and is now the leader in the online Loyalty/Rewards business. It’ll create some revenue for MS – this is not a Google killer but will get them some mindshare and loyalty! Savvy shoppers will return to this site to get the biggest cash back reward compared to any rewards site online. Industry leader, MyPoints will take a big hit on this one. Beleaguered players like BondRewards.com will likely vaporize as they offer far less reward and their site is no longer being updated.
I’m a cashback fan, and hopefully this integration will sort out some of the weird search results that you get on the cashback site that differ from what the real “live” site gives you.
I may not have saved enough to buy a new house ising cashback but every buck saved these days is a good thing
http://www.cashbackr.com/
I love ebay cashback via live.com.
just saved 10% of my netbook purchase.
Thanks Paul for mentioning http://www.cashbackr.com which gives me email alerts of cashback changes.
time to head off to microsoft then
I don’t know how many people sign up for cash back program. You (MS) never responded to them. No wonder why MS always behind Google & yahoo on the search advertising business.
I send email 3-4 time since the very beginning. Even though, I only spend 2k-3k on advertising per month (small amount) but they will add up if you lose this many customers.
too bad, you (MS Bing Team) never read this anyway. Why doing new product like Bing when your current support is suck and useless.
Just another part of the Microsoft empire, that is about to crumble, they are not a search engine.
Microsoft is great!