Introducing Microsoft SearchPerks: Get Paid to Search ... Again
First, we had Microsoft Cash Back where Microsoft paid you to search the web with live.com. Now, we have Search Perks where Microsoft pays you to search the web with live.com ... well, almost.
The difference between Search Perks and Cash Back are minimal, but the idea behind the new creation is that you get points for every search. Those accumulate and then you can win prizes.
You're limited to IE6 or higher to participate, so Firefox users are not eligible. That's because SearchPerks has a built in toolbar.
It's questionable, though, if this is a good business plan for Microsoft. To me, it sounds like something that can be easily exploited. One forum member says the following to echo that sentiment:
If people are doing pointless searches and meanwhile clicking on ads to max out their "tickets", I can't see it being a good deal for anyone in the long run.
Many people agree and think that Microsoft should stop while they're ahead. But until then, happy searching!
Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.
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Tamar Weinberg in Microsoft MSN Search at October 2, 2008 10:42 AM
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When you look at traffic estimates from Alexa, Compete, and Quantcast (none of which may be for real), Google appears to be losing traffic and Microsoft has become the second-most visited search engine.
I agree that training users to search for reward is not a good long-term strategy, but so far Microsoft has shown it can build a huge Web audience (95 million estimated visitors to live.com and search.msn.com in August) for search.
Time will tell if they have built a sticky audience.
Posted by Michael Martinez at October 2, 2008 16:37