• Marketing Land
  • Sections
    • CMO
    • Social
    • SEM
    • SEO
    • Analytics
    • Display
    • Retail
    • MarTech
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • Resources
  • More
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

Marketing Land

Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • Resources
  • More
  • Home
  • Newsletters
  • Home
SEM

Search Beats Display: Microsoft Says Bing Is Sustainable & Standalone Multibillion Dollar Business

A rare reveal as Microsoft exit the display ads business highlights what a powerhouse Bing search apparently is.

Danny Sullivan on June 29, 2015 at 5:43 pm
  • More
ads-generic1-ss-1920

Think search advertising is boring, and that it’s all about programmatic and display these days? Microsoft’s move today to dispose of its display business but keep search shows how powerful and unique search remains.

As announced today, Microsoft is ridding itself of its display ad sales business. That’s something it feels can be handled just as well by farming it out to AOL and AppNexus. But search is different. Search is important. Search is something that Microsoft has no plans to dispose of.

“We are deeply committed on the search side. We see it as a business that we’ve built out over the past six years as sustainable and standalone,” said Rik van der Kooi, the vice president who heads Microsoft’s ad business, when we talked today about Microsoft’s moves.

I wasn’t sure I heard correctly. Was van de Kooi saying that Bing really was making money now as a standalone business? That’s not something I’d recalled Microsoft saying before.

“It’s a multibillion dollar business, and it does pay for itself right now,” he reconfirmed. “Our commitment to Bing is very deep and therefor critical for us to continue to monetize that business,” he said, explaining how Bing is not just a service on its own but tied into all types of Microsoft products now, from phones to desktops to email.

That underscores how relatively rare search is, among providers. It makes up about half of online ad sales in the US, yet the inventory and ad sales platforms are largely controlled (in the US) by only three companies: Google, Bing and Yahoo. In contrast, if you want to make a display ad purchase, there are a dizzying array of platforms and providers all competing for your money.



About The Author

Danny Sullivan
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, MarTech Today and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Related Topics

AOLBingChannel: SEMDisplay AdvertisingMicrosoft: Business Issues

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

February 23, 2021: SMX Report

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

October 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

December17, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

White Papers

  • The State of Local Marketing Report 2020-2021
  • Quality CRM Data: The Key to Delivering Great Customer Experiences
  • How the Microsoft Search Network Can Maximize Your Search Campaigns
  • The Marketer’s Playbook for Customer Acquisition
  • How To Optimize SEO With UGC
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • How to Avoid the Digital Transformation Trap
  • How to Build a Marketing System of Record
  • Meet BIMI: The brand-boosting email security marketers must have for 2021
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

h
Receive daily marketing news & analysis.
Marketing Land
Download the Marketing Land app on iTunes Download the Marketing Land App on Google Play

Channels

  • MarTech
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Mobile
  • Analytics
  • Retail
  • Display

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • SMX

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • MarTech Conference
  • Search Marketing Expo

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff
  • Connect With Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Youtube
  • iOS App
  • Google Play

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok