What Microsoft's Bing Might Cost Google

Part of the excitement over Microsoft's new Bing search engine has been the fact that it seems to be getting a pretty fair amount of traffic.

So far, it seems that Microsoft (MSFT) has gained search share at the expense of Yahoo (YHOO) while Google's search share has remained relatively steady. If Bing's popularity grows, however, it's bound to make a dent in Google's dominance of search.

So what would be the impact if users began to give up Google (GOOG) in favor of Bing?

Here are a few numbers to consider:

• Google derives 99% of their revenue from advertising.
• Google derives 69% of ad revenue from "Google web sites". This means Google search and other sites owned by Google such as YouTube. The vast majority of the revenue is derived from search advertising.
• According to the most recent annual report, advertising revenue from "Google web sites" was $14.4 billion.
• Google's overall share of search according to ComScore's most recent measure for May is about 65%, a 0.8% increase over April.

If Bing begins to gain search share from Google, the financial impact to Google would look something like this:

A 65% search share equates to $14.4B in annual ad revenue for Google. So for every percent of search share that Google loses, it would cost the company roughly $220 million in revenue.

At this rate, Google will not take the Bing threat lightly. Look for Google to respond aggressively if Bing starts to really take off.

Disclosure: no positions

Comments

[Jonathan W:]

This is a great post. People think of Google as a search engine which I think is the wrong approach. The data you provide on their revenue shows that it is not a search engine but rather an advertising engine.

I think many believe that this is a battle over search. Search is what the news focuses on. It is really a battle over advertising revenue.

If your revenue is 99% from advertising you are in the advertising businesss. Google is an advertising engine not a search engine.
You are correct that Google will respond to Bing aggressively. They have no other choice.

Jun 20 10:38 AM

[Tom B:]

Bing seems to have already fizzled. No worries-- holding my GOOG.

Jun 20 10:07 PM

[SEO Web Mar...:]

Very interesting article Seeking Alpha. I think Google has / had a monopoly on the advertising internet platform and this is healthy search/advertising competition. This will be much better for the end user whichever Giant dominates.

Jun 25 07:16 AM

[kaylasmith:]

One great thing about Bing is using it for shopping... Search the term wii in Bing. Notice at the top there will be a sponsored link for a percent off anything on eBay. Just follow the link.
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Jul 07 09:57 PM