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MSN announed during an annual gathering of its most important advertisers that it will enter the paid search arena with a full-blown self-service paid listing program similar to those run by Yahoo and Google. It will be tested in France and Singapore some time in the next six months. The date for a worldwide rollout has not been released.

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Useful, practical steps for advertisers and SEOs now that this thread has brought the topic up. started the discussion, pointed out the competitive balance, and raised the workload concern — the advice below is focused on reducing that workload while getting the most value from an additional paid channel.

Start-up checklist (quick wins to prepare)

  • Standardize tracking: create a unique utm_source and a conversion pixel for the new engine so you can measure incremental performance separately.
  • Mirror only what matters: import top-performing campaigns and keywords from existing engines but prioritize high-intent terms first; do not duplicate everything at once.
  • Landing-page parity: ensure landing pages and funnels are tested for conversion before scaling spend.
  • Small-budget experiments: run short A/B tests on ad copy, match types, and landing pages to collect reliable data without overspending.
  • Naming and taxonomy: pick a consistent campaign/adgroup naming convention that includes the engine name to simplify cross-engine reporting.

Workflow and management tips to avoid the headache

  • Centralize reporting: one dashboard or spreadsheet that pulls top KPIs for each engine reduces context switching.
  • Shared negatives and keyword mapping: maintain a master negative keyword list and a keyword-to-landing-page mapping to prevent cannibalization and wasted spend.
  • Incremental measurement: treat the new engine as an experiment — measure lift, not just last-click conversions.
  • Automation and cadence: schedule weekly checks for budget burn and performance, with monthly strategic reviews to decide scale-up or kill.

SEO and strategic notes

  • Use paid tests to learn messaging and landing-page variations that can inform organic pages.
  • Watch for click-share shifts between paid and organic; adjust bids or organic snippets as needed.
  • Set clear ROI thresholds before scaling.

These steps should help turn the extra channel from a management burden into a controlled opportunity, addressing ’s workload concern while supporting the broader market balance expects.

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Member Avatar for pcarlow

I'm looking forward to MSN and Yahoo's versions of Adsense. I think the addition of MSN paid listings will create a nice balance between the big three.

Member Avatar for jewboy

Darn it! More PPC campaigns to manage, what a headache! Why is Microsoft sooooo far behind in the search engine game?

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