Microsoft Corp’s new chief executive, Satya Nadella says Bing powers 30 per cent of the Internet search market, making it a worthy competitor to Google Inc.
However, the figures quoted by Microsoft, which include searches by partner Yahoo Inc, are much higher than the rate at which people actually click on the links that a search returns, according to new studies by industry researchers.
The new search data calls into question Bing’s effectiveness for advertisers. It also lends support to the argument from some investors that Microsoft should sell Bing.
Microsoft has been in the Internet search business since 1998, and Bing — five years old this month — is its latest and most intense effort to unseat market leader Google. The company initially assumed that its world-class engineers and the sheer scale of its Windows user base would sweep away competitors, but Google has not relinquished any share and still retains its dominent market position
