The Great Search Payola

Not long ago I predicted search companies would tie the searcher into the revenue stream. After all, if someone is making a buck from my interest and eyeballs, shouldn’t I be entitled to a cut? Today Microsoft announced CashBack, a program clearly designed to lure consumers away from Google to Microsoft’s Live Search. The upshot is, if you use Live Search and end up buying the product (online) from a participating retailer you’ll get a kickback, er…I mean rebate. While this program is tied directly to purchase, it’s only a matter of time before someone (probably Google) figures out how to include you and me in the revenue stream based on our search behavior. In the meantime, maybe Microsoft could increase their share of search by make it more fun to type “msn” than “google.”