Microsoft wants Google traffic

Internet Explorer advertises for MSN if searching for Google!

[zgb999]

I don't know whether you have this in other parts of the world but if I enter Google in the address bar of Internet Explorer I get
[search.msn.ch...]
which basically tells you: "Why are you looking for a search engine if you already found one". On this popup window you can start searching on MSN.

Microsoft obviously uses its power to get people that are actually looking for Google to MSN search!

[Tropical Island]

From Venezuela we get:
[search.msn.com...]
srch=105&FORM=AS5&q=google
Top listing is Google.com.
Second listing is MSN search with an image of an MSN search page. The linking url is ads.msn.com/ads/adredir.asp.....and ending with ...Goggle&ImgFlag... (that's all I can see.)
There are also "Popular Google topics" at the top of the page with 4 links.

[albert]

Germany MSIE 6, default settings:

If I type in Google, result is a MSN Popup saying in german:
"Why search a search engine if you've found one?",
with input box for MSN search.

Below the popup ist MSN results page. Listing as follows:

#1 google.de
#2 search.msn.de
#3 google.watch.org
#4 images.google.de
#5 google.com/intl/de

Positions 1 and 2 are "ausgewählte Websites" = choosen websites (MSN partner program, payed links, obscurely elected "favoured" websites, aso.)
Positions down from 3 are "Webverzeichnissites" = web directory (or index) sites.

Interesting, too, is the description given with google.watch

Alle lieben Google! Wirklich alle? Diese Organisation setzt sich kritisch mit Datenschutzaspekten verschiedener Features der Suchmaschine auseinander. Engl.

In english - raw translation: All love Google. Really all? This organisation is critical about data protection aspects of some features in Google.

IMHO, this strategy of MSN is very annoying ...

A lot of users don't even know that they are able to change their browser's settings ...

<added>The URL is:
[search.msn.de...]

[Zapatista]

It's a sad and disturbing commentary that MSN has to manipulate its own SERPS to give people searching for Google the propaganda results that it wants viewers to have.

Reminds me of this one Information Minister I used to see on tv all the time. I miss that guy.

[j_h_maccann]

> From the UK I get the grubby MSN search box
> at the top of the page, followed by Google sites
> under 'featured' and 'directory' listings.

From the UK, when I type "google" into the
address bar of IE6, I am immediately looking at
[google.com...] . Not a glimpse of MSN.

[albert]

@j_h_maccann:

What you get depends on the search settings of your broswer - regarding IE see msg #22.

It might be interesting to see what you get with default settings (that use to be MSN search).

[mil2k]

This is one of the saddest way to compete with google. Hope that God grants some sense in the mind of the MSN fellows. I would like to know what Google thinks about this?

[taskmaster]

it does not matter what you type, then you get a msn search try ghuoilkpo or anything without http www .com

zeus

[albert]

Another interesting find:

If I type in MSIE (Germany, default browser settings):
teoma
I get no popup window, just MSN results, showing teoma.com at #1

[search.msn.de...]

This proves they target Google, I guess.

[Skylo]

Ha does anyone see a striking resemblance here to Wylie Coyote(MSN) and Roadrunner(Google)....haha. Could this come round and bite MSN on the _ _ _?

[albert]

Refinement (sorry for serving bits, I was too busy before):

Popup with MSN search and question
"Why search a search engine if you've found one?"
comes up by typing:

google
yahoo
altavista
lycos

No popup:

teoma
aol
askjeeves
infospace
alltheweb
metacrawler
overture
wisenut
vivisimo
looksmart
dmoz
odp

Again Germany, MSIE 6, default settings.

[Skylo]

For GG's note from his post, happening in South Africa too.

[Skier]

GG. - FYI my post (#13) were search results in Canada.

[GoogleGuy]

Thanks for contributing this data, everyone. Anybody seeing other things?

[kmtell]

It really isn't surpprising that MSN won't give you a Google link; MS Office doesn't even recognize Google as a proper noun!

[albert]

I'm posting again, because it's unbelievable (I must be very naive).

How MSN Germany rates SE's

I did a search for
search engines
at MSN Germany search.

Results 1 - 15 out of 18,414:

#1 Sponsored Site: aconon.de - some SE related software

Results from 2 down are web index sites:

#2 - 3: german sites about search engine technologies, hints aso.
#4 metacrawler.de
#5 - 8 german sites related to SE themes
#9 altavista.de
#10 fireball.de
#11 lycos.de
#12 yahoo.de
#13 web.de - german SE
#14 a german meta SE
#15 google.de

Hrrmm ...

If you search for the singular
search engine
then Google is at #17.

Doesn't correlate to german SE traffic:
[webmasterworld.com ]

Who made that mistake helping Mr. G$t$s with that dirty operating system years ago?

[jomaxx]

Now it's a sin that Google doesn't rank #1 for "search engines"? This whole matter is pretty trivial; hardly Microsoft's worst offense. Given MSIE's dominance in the browser field, I'm afraid we will see much worse abuses of power in the future.

[Skylo]

Why wouldn't google try develop a browser of their own. I know that msn has the whole dominance factor going on, but surely Google knows that if they had to do such a thing it would be eaten up by us webmasters? If google is going to be the sheriff of the internet then they will have to eventually look at this factor?

Any comments GG?

[waynet]

I'll have to add this to my reasons for blocking the msn.com domain on my router.

[vincevincevince]

Why wouldn't google try develop a browser of their own

I like that idea... I really do :) It could redefine the whole internet to have google not as a tool, but as the way the net works... i can see very very great potential here :) And add some new features, such as google interaction with websites or the like...

[kyr01]

From Italy I get:
http://search.msn.it/results.aspx?srch=104&FORM=AS4&q=google [search.msn.it].
#1 is google.it
#2 is search.msn.it but with a nice pic that makes it quite prominent...
Just a plain window (no pop-up), at least for me.

[jaski]

Am I seeing the strangest result of all .. when I type google in the address window .. and click enter .. I am redirected to this page [webmasterworld.com...] .. serious .. I tried launching fresh IE window and same thing again .. am I missing some thing here ..

IE 5.5

[anallawalla]

As someone said, this is partly a result of the IE settings. You can make it not do a search if you type a non-URI in the address bar.

From Australia, I end up at [search.yahoo.com...] after briefly going via MSN.

Added:
I revisited Msg#22 and saw that for some reason my default search was set to Yahoo. I changed it to MSN and I did not get the behaviour reported in Sweden and the German speaking countries.

I believe that one can force the search to point to Google but it could be a registry change. Seems to come up now and then in newsgroups.

- Ash

[Oaf357]

In Windows 2000 with IE6 it's in:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

The key you're looking for is:

Search Page

Hope that helps anyone who's interested.

[albert]

Olaf:
Thank you. Albeit I guess a lot of people here do know how to change browser settings this or that way, or use other browsers.

But many users don't. So M$ helps those users, at least in some countries. Really altruistic.

[waynet]

I have windows 2000 and IE6, with that registry setting set to go to google, but it still tries to go to msn. I tried searching the registry and removed all that I can find for msn, but it still tries to go there. Oh well, at least it is simple to block.

[HitProf]

Couldn't resist doing a Googlefight:
MSN (20 200 000 results) vs Google (19 300 000 results)

And the winner is: msn :(

Little else to report from the Netherlands. No popups, not even a sponsored listing in the SERPS.

It's not IP-based, I get a popup and an MSN Suche sponsored listing when using MSN.de. Btw: they do present search results and Google is listed before MSN.

But: no Google as a search option in IE or Windows (2000 Pro), just MSN and Ilse.