Change did Microsoft little good. MSN began its slow decline in September/October 2005 when it accounted for approximately 12% to 15% of the search engine market according to data released by three different market analysts: Nielsen/Net-Ratings, comScore and Hitwise. The three might not agree on percentages but they deliver a synonymous trend in the evolution of Microsoft's search share.

The Redmond Company is losing its grip on the search engine market. The introduction of Windows Live help has failed to cause a positive impact over Microsoft's evolution. Moreover, Live Search has even failed to introduce stagnation to Microsoft's search share. In fact, it is as if Windows Live Search had no impact at all, and the Redmond Company sank even deeper.

In October 2006, comScore places Microsoft at 11.7% of the market, Hitwise a tad lower with 10.6% and NetRatings the lowest of all at 8.8%. A perspective over the data delivered over the search engine market by the three analyst firms reveals that their information coincides on a single aspect: the deterioration of Microsoft's share. Google is credited with shares from 45.4%, 49.6% and 60.9%. Similarly, Yahoo has 28,2%, 23,9% and 22.3%.

There are a variety of reasons for Microsoft's decrease in popularity, but I will not get into all of them. The most popular are that moving from MSN to Windows live Search was a bad idea; that a lax marketing campaign failed to push the service; that Live Search has a beta feel to it and that it lacks the innovation and vision to recommend it as a viable alternative for Google and Yahoo.