The detailed explanation of how this works can be found on here; the lowdown is as follows: You search for deals using Live Search; when you find deals with a special coin shaped icon, it means you’ll receive a small amount of money after you’ve bought something. When your balance reaches $5, you can claim your cash.
If this sounds like those special customer cards your local store clerk has been bothering you with, you’re right. Personally, I don’t care for such deals, but I’m sure there are people who enjoy saving a buck here and there. However, there are several of problems with Microsoft’s cashback; after I list them all, many of you will find that the program simply isn’t for you.
On the merchant side of things, be aware that we’re not talking about cost-per-click advertising model; we’re talking about cost-per-acquisition, which means that the advertiser pays only when a customer clicks on the ad and actually completes a purchase. There are certain situations in which this works well, but we all know that AdWords are mainly CPC and that that’s one of the main reasons behind its success.
Will Microsoft lure more people into using Live Search? Definitely. But my guess is that they’ll only use it to find cheap deals, and use Google for general purpose search. Google is still the best global search engine, while the demographics Microsoft is aiming here is narrow in comparison: US-based surfers, older than 18, who like to shop online and are willing to switch from PayPal for certain payments. It’s a solid initiative, but it’s not enough to move from search engine number 3 to the second and first position anytime soon.Blogged with the Flock Browser
