Microsoft made a big show at Capitol Hill this week trying to prevent a Google and Yahoo search deal by claiming the deal would give Google too much control of the Internet audience. But if Microsoft is successful in its bid for Yahoo, Microsoft could grab twice the Web audience Google does.
Just not the search audience. This audience is the overall Web audience. Hitwise ranked the top 20 US websites in June and the sites making the list have familiar names. Most are owned by Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft, with pepperings of other big names like eBay, MySpace, Facebook, and Wikipedia.
As the top 20 stands (and this quick math doesn't include sites beyond these 20), Google, with all of its properties like YouTube and Gmail reaches about 8 percent of the US Web. Yahoo connects with over 11 percent, and Microsoft reaches 4 percent.
If Microsoft acquires Yahoo and its top 20 properties, and throw in AOL just for good measure since rumors have heated up this week about Microsoft possibly acquiring them too (can't hurt—AOL's less than one percent), that gives them about 16 percent of the Web to sling marketing messages toward.
Or about double that of Google's cliques.
Here are Hitwise's top 20:
Yahoo Patent Filing Sheds Light On PageRank Official Google Response: Microsoft's Bid On Yahoo! "Hostile"Google Blames Microsoft for Yahoo! Deal ControversyRetailers Panic Over Google Site SearchGoogle Closes Door On Yahoo Ad DealYahoo and Microsoft OverlapTips for Using Google to Get Holiday Clicks & ConversionsBeating The Unbeatable GoogleYahoo Slaps Down Microsoft Offer Microsoft's Purchase Of Yahoo! An Inevitable Reality?
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Hypocrites?
Anybody remember a time when the CEO of Microsoft completely ignored the Internet as a potential source of revenue?
Of course, Gates corrected his bad call and made Netscape an offer they couldn't refuse. Still, big business isn't a bad thing because it creates new jobs and there are always innovative entrepreneurs that can open up new possibilities.
I wouldn't mind seeing a Google-fied Yahoo! Push Gmail, anybody?
Yahoo and MSN
As Googled eyed as we all get sometimes, it's important to keep in mind that MSN and Yahoo represent about 30% of the search engine market share. This is definitely too big of a chunk of potential traffic for any savvy online business to ignore.
relevant market
I now your article was specifically centered on antitrust concerns; however, you did rap Microsoft on the knuckles for complaining on capitol hill about the google - yahoo search deal. I find it funny that a long-time monopolist in the operating system market is complaining about the potential monopoly power in the search market of yahoo-google combination. When analyzing market power, one has to first determine the relevant market. I maintain it is not entire web but, rather, the market for web search. Why? Myspace or ebay, although having boats full of traffic, have only collateral impact on the search market. Google has like 70% of the search market. http://blog.compete.com/2008/02/08/search-market-share-january-yahoo-microsoft-google-ask-aol-msn-live/
Yahoo is under 20% of the search market. MSN is under 10%. Combine both Yahoo and MSN and you are still well under 30%! Remember, the last proposal was for MSN to buy only the search properties of Yahoo. Search is the reason for MSN trying to buy Yahoo IMHO.
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