Bing, the search engine launched by Microsoft last June, is capable of making a profit, according to a top Microsoft Executive.
Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of Microsoft’s online audience business, said finalising the deal with Yahoo and increasing its share of the search market is the key to success.
Mehdi told Reuters: “As soon as we close and implement the Yahoo deal, we have achieved a milestone: for advertisers, we are a credible number two.
“Really now, the goal is about share gain. If we grow share, we will grow our way into profitability, and we have confidence we can do that.”
Microsoft currently has a 10.7 per cent share of the market, compared with Yahoo’s 17.3 per cent and Google’s 65.7 per cent.
If Microsoft’s deal with Yahoo is approved by the US regulator, it would take the company’s share of the search market to close to 30 per cent, which is far more likely to attract advertisers.