Should Microsoft Buy More Search Share By Acquiring Ask.com?

The search engine market was once a fairly predictable and intriguing place where the mantra was “Google-and-everybody-else.” There was innovation, but nobody really believed that Microsoft, Yahoo, or any other startup could pose a threat to Google’s search empire.

The entire search market was thrown onto a roller coaster though when Microsoft revealed Bing to the world. The new search engine promised to not only be a remake of Microsoft Live Search, but a completely new take on how search should be implemented.

The Redmond-based company’s war against Google has steadily gained momentum: an intense promotional campaign, the Yahoo-Microsoft search deal, and most recently, a Twitter search deal. Now there’s speculation that Microsoft may make another blockbuster move by buying out the #4 player in search, Ask.com.

According to Reuters, Ask.com’s owner, InterActiveCorp (IAC), is leaning towards selling its struggling search engine. In a conference call yesterday, IAC CEO Barry Diller stated that it is open to “consolidating” its search market share, but that it would not likely be the consolidator.

So who would be the “consolidator?” The answer is almost certainly Microsoft, who has shown a willingness to pay for search market share and will not face the same regulatory questions that Google would face if it were to make a run for Ask.com’s roughly 4% of the search market.

Building a Search Competitor, Deal by Deal

The speculation put forth by Reuters and many analysts is solid. Bing, even with after the Yahoo search deal, still owns less than 30% of the search market. Amassing every asset it can in its challenge to Google’s supremacy is only logical. There’s a reason Microsoft has been striking deals with Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and many other companies. Taking over Ask.com at a reasonable price would help increase Bing’s userbase, plain and simple.

So should Microsoft buy itself some more search share? It seems like a ripe opportunity to gain a 4% boost and acquire a decent brand at a reasonable price (when someone wants to bail on a market, you can usually get bang for your buck).

It may not shift the balance of power between Google and Bing immediately, but when you put together all of these moves and deals, it can quickly add up to something big.

Tags: Ask.com, bing, Google, iac, microsoft