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Several months ago, MSN began to beta-test its own search engine. Previously, MSN had been using search results from Yahoo.

This month, MSN has gone live with its own search engine.

What does this mean for you, a small business owner? Simply put, there are now THREE key players in the search engine world: Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Therefore there are now three key players to consider in your own internet marketing plan.

I've always advocated that you check your search rankings on Google and Yahoo to see how you're doing for search phrases your prospective clients might use to find you. Now you'll want to do it with MSN as well.

Try this test:

1. Go to each of the search engines and type in Small Business Coaching. It's best if you open each of the search engines in a separate window by using each link below, so you can see the results side-by-side:

• www.Google.com
• www.Yahoo.com
• www.MSN.com

2. Ignore the "sponsored links" (advertisements) at the top of the page, and look at the organic search results.

3. You'll see that Passion For Business ranks #1 at Google, #9 at Yahoo, and #1 at MSN.

4. Now try a slightly different search phrase: Small Business Coach in each of the search engines. (Replacing "coaching" with "coach.") Notice the difference? #7 in Google, #29 in Yahoo (on page 3), and #3 in MSN.

By checking slightly different search terms, you can see your overall ranking with each of the search engines. If you're not on page one or page two, it's time to reconsider your search engine marketing strategy.

Think about your own possible search terms. For example, if you're a graphic artist, try "graphic artist" or "graphic design artist." Since there's a lot of competition for those search terms (hence the likelihood of you getting high rankings is reduced), consider using some alternative search phrases like "web artist" or "graphic artist new jersey."

Need help in choosing search phrases? Try Overture's search tool: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

Why Does This Matter To You?

Now that there are three big players in the search engine field, it means your marketing plan must change. In the past, MSN got its search results from Yahoo and its paid advertising (sponsored links) from Overture. (Overture is owned by Yahoo, big surprise!)

I used to pay for advertising with Overture because my ranking was lower on Yahoo and MSN for certain search phrases. I didn't pay for advertising on Google AdWords because my rankings were great on Google. Now that MSN has it's OWN search engine, my rankings on MSN are really wonderful, so why pay for advertising through Overture? I've dropped my advertising with Overture for search phrases that show up strongly on MSN and I'll watch my website statistics to see if I'm still receiving traffic from MSN and Yahoo.

While MSN is still using Overture for paid advertising, I sense that it won't be long before MSN dumps Overture and comes up with their own paid advertising scheme. Watch sites like www.searchenginewatch.com for news about these sorts of changes. If I hear any definitive news, I will put it in a newsletter or bulletin for you.

Expect that the search engine world will continue to change and evolve, and be prepared to evolve your marketing planning to parallel these changes.