At AOL Search, Google is replaced by bing. Microsoft and AOL have signed a new 10-year agreement for Bing to produce search listings and ads to AOL from Jan 1, 2016.
When Google initial won the AOL deal back in 2002, it had been an enormous deal for that company. Google was still promissing; AOL had significant search traffic. Google managed to renew the deal whenever it came up since, like in 2010. However, no more.
AOL will take over display ad sales for Microsoft, which incorporates mobile and video ads, in 9 major countries. Microsoft can still maintain Bing and its associated search ads business. As a part of today’s news, Microsoft has signed a 10-year deal for AOL to be powered by Bing, exclusion Google from that role, from Jan 2016.
Display Ads
Microsoft can still have display ads, together with mobile and video ads, on numerous properties starting from MSN to Outlook to Xbox and Skype. However, it'll not sell those ads directly. Instead, AOL can handle these Microsoft’s 9 largest world markets: the United States, the UK, Canada, Brazil,Germany, France, , Italy, Spain and Japan.
Beyond those countries, can use AppNexus to programmatically sell its display inventory within the markets of will, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, sweden and switzerland.
The modification to AOL and AppNexus will happen in the coming weeks and months. Microsoft aforementioned that no employees are losing their job in reference to the largest countries its serves. The company wouldn’t say what percentage jobs are in flux (one report says 500; another 1,200) however admitted it’s a big range and stressed once more that everybody would get offers to stay working with AOL.
“It’s a large range. Again, the key purpose we wish to make, all of these people for those 9 markets are being given jobs,” Rik van der Kooi, the vp who heads Microsoft’s ad business, told me after we talked today.
He also stressed that Microsoft isn’t dropping display, simply display sales.
“We are committed to advertising as a business model, together with display advertising. However, we would like to concentrate on building great content and communication services and legalize them by advertising,” van der Kooi commented.
Search Ads
Microsoft is holding its search engine, Bing, yet because the search ads platform designed around it, Bing Ads. During a new deal, AOL can drop using Google’s search results and ads in place of Bing’s from Jan 1, 2016.
The AOL deal is not any great loss for Google, which wouldn’t comment regarding the modification. In the US, AOL has about 1% share of the search market, which is sort of a rounding to Google’s an share. There’s even an argument that losing AOL strengthens Google against charges it’s too dominant at search. It will point at this loss as an example of “see, we don’t invariably win.”
It’s still a big gain for Bing, that recently passed the 20% marketshare mark in the United States. This helps nudge it a little higher. Microsoft also disclosed that Bing is successful as a standalone product.
The deal lasts for ten years. Terms of the search and ad deals weren't uncovered. “All that is good for AOL is nice for us,” said Van Der Kooi.
There is no great loss for Google, however. AOL has solely only 1% of the search traffic in the us, versus Google’s 65%. Google can doubtless not see the loss. The company, probably, did not even try for renewing the deal. The loss even helps Google argue that it’s not as fully dominant in search as it’s usually criticized for.
It’s still an excellent win for Bing. It recently passed the 20% share within the us, and the AOL deal can provide it an additional nudge forward.
Know more about the Microsoft deal from Axat Technologies.