The future search engine provider of MSN.com

Pandia takes a look at who is going to deliver search engine results to the powerful Microsoft MSN.com portal.

(February 23 2003, update February 26) Regular readers are probably starting to get the picture. Search Engine Industry news is often about -- pardon the expression -- who's going to bed with whom.

Because there are search engines and there are search engines.

There are search engine providers that provide the data (i.e. the search engine results database and an algorithm for how to sort these results) and there are search service sites (i.e. sites that actually allow you and me to use these databases).

Sometimes they are the same. The Google site is powered by the Google search engine. The Lycos sites are -- however -- powered by the Fast search engine.

For the search engine providers it is important to get as many search sites on board as possible. This mean revenue. After all, these sites pay for using their data. But it also means prestige and influence. A good reputation is a worth a lot these days.

This is why search engine experts discuss the future of Yahoo! so eagerly. The default search engine results on the Yahoo! site is now powered by Google, but given that Yahoo! recently bought the competing Inktomi search results provider, it wouldn't come as a surprise if Yahoo! switched to Inktomi.

Another very important search destination is Bill Gates' MSN.com. This site is at the moment powered by Inktomi (yes, the one owned by Yahoo! -- it is a tangled World Wide Web they weave, isn't it?).

However, MSN may reconsider, and whoever lands the MSN account will get a much stronger position in the market.

In its 10-Q report Inktomi says: "In February 2003, Microsoft extended its agreement with us to provide Web search services through December, 2005."

However, this does not mean that MSN will have to stick with Inktomi for the whole period. It makes sense for MSN to make sure they have a stable solutions while they develop their long term strategies.

At the moment no one knows what Yahoo! is planning to do with the Inktomi search engine. They will make use of the search technology, that's for sure. They would not have bought the company, it this wasn't the case. However, they may use the search algorithm and other parts of the Inktomi know-how without keeping the database.

They could, for instance, use the Inktomi technology to deliver a mix of search results from various sources, Google and their own directory included. By doing this they would for all practical purposes turn Yahoo! into a metasearch engine.

If this scenario becomes reality, MSN will have to look for another search results provider. In any case, it makes sense for them to keep their options open.

There are several alternatives. The Norwegian search engine company Fast would definitely like to get the MSN account. The quality of their search results are more or less equal to Google's, so it would make sense for MSN to join Fast as well.

[Two days after having published this article, the Fast Web search unit was bought by pay-per-click text ad provider Overture. That does not change the main drift of the argument though. Overture would love to become the only MSN partner!]

However, MSN could also follow in the footsteps of Yahoo! and AOL and start using Google instead. Everybody loves Google these days, and the Google logo will look good on the results pages.

But -- and this is a big but -- Google is growing awfully big these days. By adding news, shopping search and other services, Google is slowly becoming the portal it promised it never would be.

Given that Microsoft wants MSN.com to become the major destination on the Web, they should think twice before adding a Google logo to their pages. After all, why search on MSN, when you can have the real thing?

MSN may also make a deal with the new Overture/AltaVista constellation. They already have an agreement with pay-per-click text ad provider Overture, and now that Overture owns the AltaVista search engine, the company can offer MSN the complete search/ad package.

AltaVista remains a good search engine, and it is getting even better. However, it cannot deliver search results of the same quality as Google and Fast yet, and MSN might feel uncomfortable with putting all the eggs in the same basket.

So, all things considered, Fast could be the most likely future candidate for an MSN relationship.

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