Google and the Microsoft Yahoo Merger

The Microsoft Yahoo merger is again receiving interest. A nice article Can Yahoo save Microsoft? in the Los Angeles Times describes how Bill Gates “finds himself facing a network effect more powerful than his own — Google. Google is changing the way people buy, use and pay for software in ways as revolutionary as Gates did a generation ago — and Microsoft has been caught flat-footed”.

As Google makes available software like Gmail and Google Apps all for free, Microsoft feels a cool breeze. Especially since Google make their profits from the online advertising business, an area where Microsoft have struggled with only a loss to show for their efforts.

Some of the top Hi-tech CEOs offer Yahoo, Microsoft merger advice as if the Microsoft Yahoo merger is so simple, it’s not. There is enormous risk for both companies, who individually have been losing market share of the online advertising business to Google. Advertisers are interested in reaching the biggest audience; neither Microsoft nor Yahoo can match Google.

Company’s using PPC (Price Per Click) do not want to maintain advertising across three different platforms. Running a PPC campaign is very time consuming and needs constant analysis to preserve position and keep up with the competition. In running Excalibur’s PPC campaigns, I concentrate all my efforts on Google Adwords.