Microsoft's new search plan: bribe the customers
Microsoft may not have Google's search market share, but it's got plenty of cash. So it's going after the searchers who pay Google's bills — those who use the site to find products to buy. Today, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and SVP Satya Nadella will announce a plan to pay users when they search Microsoft Live Search to find and purchase products such as Bulova watches and Oakley sunglasses. Other vendors participating include Barnes & Noble booksellers, Circuit City and Home Depot. The technology behind the cashback scheme comes from a company called Jellyfish which Microsoft acquired in September 2007. Nadella is also expected to announce that Microsoft will begin to allow advertisers to pay for their search ads based on sales conversions, rather than clicks from Microsoft's search results page to the vendor's, an option Google has long offered. (Photo by stopnlook)