Full or Partial Credit, Google Remains Dominant

Implications: Atlas DMT has the ability to weight conversions based on a person's online ad exposure & actions.  And if it ends with a Google search, click & sale/action, then Google still commands the majority of the attribution.

Analysis: Microsoft is trying to make a statement that Google shouldn't get all the money they get based on the overall web exposure & conversion path.  For instance, say an online user saw an ad on MSN.com, then went to MSNBC.com and saw another ad there, then did a Google search, clicked on a link and converted.  Microsoft is claiming that the ads on MSN & MSNBC contributed and therefore should receive part of the credit for that conversion.  Makes sense to me.

However, it won't necessarily move dollars away from Google.  It's like saying that I'll spend more on TV because it generates searches, and less on Google because people watched TV before they searched and clicked on my ads.  In actuality, the marketer would do better if they ensured optimized placement on both TV and in Google rankings - and that's clearly not Microsoft's argument.  They just want more money for their display ads and less money going to Google.  Maybe they should have developed a better search product for consumers and better targeting for display ads and they wouldn't be a distant competitor behind Google & Yahoo! for online advertising.

But will marketers ultimately spend less on Google?  More on display ads that contribute to conversions/revenue?  Or will marketers improve where they place dollars altogether?  It's in this that Microsoft clearly has it wrong by saying that there will be a movement away from search ads on Google (AdWords). When a person searches, their intent - at that moment - is higher than at nearly any other point in the purchase/information gathering process, basically screaming "I have a need and here it is marketers."  What this means is that search will be viewed as part of the overall solution versus a specific silo in online advertising more than it is today for marketers & agencies that use the Atlas DMT tool (which I've seen first-hand).  With this information, agencies, marketers and publishers can offer smarter solutions across multiple platforms & tactics rather than looking at clicks & giggles.

Ultimately, it's not about taking dollars away from Google, it's about leveraging partners to push additional contribution through Google, Yahoo, CNET, Valueclick, AOL, MySpace, Facebook, and any other online publisher to grow the industry overall.  So get in line, Microsoft.  You need to do better than that to earn your percent contribution.