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READ full article:*seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20080521/450msftsearch_65284.89.jpg
To use the Live Search cashback service, users must register for an account and buy eligible products.
Microsoft wants you to use its search -- and it's willing to pay
Program returns part of shoppers' money
By TODD BISHOP
P-I REPORTER
Microsoft has tried almost everything to get more people to pick its search site over Google, without success. So maybe a little cash will do the trick.
That is the idea behind a new Microsoft program that will return money to online users who find and buy select products through its Live Search engine. It's an unusual move that illustrates the lengths to which the Redmond company is willing to go in its struggle to gain ground on the Internet search king.
Microsoft's "Live Search cashback" site, set to be unveiled Wednesday, promises to pay back a portion of the purchase price -- ranging from about 2 percent to more than 30 percent -- to people who use it to find designated products and buy them online from participating retailers.
The company has signed up a long list of merchants to participate in the program -- including the online sites of large retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Sears, Home Depot, J&R Electronics, Office Depot and others.
The company is expected to unveil the Live Search cashback program at a conference in Redmond at which Bill Gates will speak to online advertisers. Microsoft last weekend said there would be a major search announcement but declined to provide specifics. A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment Tuesday evening.
However, the Seattle P-I discovered an informational portion of the Live Search cashback online site -- spelling out the new program in detail -- that was publicly accessible as of Tuesday.
One snippet on the site also makes reference to moving a user's "cashback and payment service from Jellyfish to Live Search." Microsoft acquired Jellyfish.com last year.
Microsoft has been making a series of acquisitions in an effort to bolster its online efforts.
A list of frequently asked questions on the Microsoft site includes one that many potential users will no doubt ask: "Why are you paying me cashback?"
Answer: "We want to earn your loyalty and reward it with cashback savings for your everyday online shopping. We are 'The Search That Pays You Back'!"
Cashback programs have been tried by smaller search engines, with mixed results. Because of Microsoft's big online presence, its new initiative could get lots of attention in the industry and among consumers.
"Assuming that the rebate amounts are enough to be appealing to people, which it sounds like they are, that definitely could attract a fair number of consumers," said industry analyst Van Baker, a Gartner Inc. research vice president, when the site was described to him.
"But what they may do is just go to that site when they're thinking about buying something, and use Google the rest of the time."
It's not clear how much money Microsoft has allocated to the cashback program, or how long it is scheduled to last.
According to the Microsoft site, people will need to sign up for Live Search cashback accounts to use the service. To search for eligible products, they will be able to enter a query directly on the Live Search Cashback site, or look for special icons next to search results in the standard Microsoft Live Search site.
After consumers click through to a merchant's site and buy an eligible product, the designated discount will be paid into an online account where the refunds will accumulate and be available via direct deposit to a bank or PayPal account, or by check.
The Microsoft site lists conditions for payout, including a $5 minimum balance. It also references a 60-day waiting period after purchase to account for the possibility of returns.
To get merchants to use the Live Search cashback service, Microsoft is using an alternative payment model called Cost Per Acquisition, in which the advertisers pay only when the ad results in a consumer purchase. Microsoft isn't the only company to try that, but it differs from the standard model, which is based on the number of clicks on an ad.
Microsoft is a distant third in the U.S. search market, behind Yahoo and Google.
The company's $44.6 billion bid to acquire Yahoo was designed in part to vault it into second place. That effort was thwarted, but Microsoft has since proposed an alternative deal with Yahoo, reportedly involving a combination of their search ad businesses.
Microsoft in 2007 temporarily lifted its search market share with a site called Live Search Club that incorporated search queries into online games, and rewarded players with prizes.
The cash-back program won't come as a complete surprise.
Gates hinted at the possibility in late 2005. The IDG News Service quoted the Microsoft chairman at the time pointing out how much money Google makes from search, and saying that Microsoft might reward its search users with free software, or cash.
A post at the time on the Mashable.comonline news site offered this reaction to Gates' statements: "Is this for real?"
HOW IT WORKS
Users who sign up for accounts will be able to search for eligible products on the Live Search cashback site, or look for special icons next to search results through the main Live Search engine.
When users click through to a merchant's site and buy eligible products, a designated percentage of the purchase price -- ranging from about 2 percent to more than 30 percent -- will be deposited into their Live Search cashback accounts.
Refunds will accumulate in the account and be available via direct deposit to a bank or PayPal account, or by check. The Microsoft site lists conditions for payout, including a $5 minimum balance. It also references a 60-day waiting period after purchase to account for the possibility of returns.
Microsoft will charge merchants for the Live Search cashback advertisements only when a user makes a purchase.
Source: Microsoft Live Search cashback Web site
*seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/363949_msftsearch21.html
they know their times are soon over! 
