MICROSOFT'S NEW SEARCH ENGINE ROBOT MSNBOT AND MIVA MERCHANT

We have heard rumors about a new search crawler from Microsoft.  We came face-to-face with this robot recently and decided to look into this new situation.  If you check your logs for the last couple of months, you may notice an MSNBOT listing (MSNBOT/0.1 (http://search.msn.com/msnbot.htm)). What does this mean?

The MSN search results are currently powered by Inktomi who was recently purchased by MSN's competitor, Yahoo. This would seem to be an obvious factor in Microsoft providing it's own results in the near-future if Yahoo ditches Google when their current contract expires. This webmaster world forum thread has many interesting theories including the one about Microsoft trying to secretly compete with Yahoo by pretending to compete with Google. Microsoft itself says "Although we have not set a date, it is our intention to eventually integrate the crawled contents into MSN Search results".

Miva Merchant store owners should not be too concerned right now since there is no information on how Microsoft will deal with Miva Merchant category and product screens, what it will be looking for, etc.  Below you will find additional resources.

1. MSNBOT— The MSN Search Prototype Web Crawler - Frequently asked questions about Microsoft's new robot crawler, MSNBOT
2. Microsoft's MSN Search To Build Crawler-Based Search Engine - In April, news emerged that Microsoft intended to make a huge new investment in web search. Now signs of that investment are appearing. Microsoft's MSN Search site posted a large list of jobs in May, then drew much attention last month when official information about its own search spider "MSNBOT" was posted to the public. Search Engine Watch members have access to a longer version of this article.
3. Is MSN Gunning for Google - The software is compiling hyperlinks, Web pages and other documents as part of an effort that began in February to bolster the capabilities of MSN Search, according to ZDNet.
4. MSN Search Bot a Glimpse of Ambitions - In preparation for unveiling its own algorithmic search engine, Microsoft's MSN has quietly launched software that will index Web sites, a move that raises questions about MSN's relationship with Yahoo subsidiary Inktomi.
5. MSN Gets on Search Bandwagon - Web portal MSN is testing a new search service that touts faster, tidier results, in what is the latest development in a fast-moving contest to help people find what they're looking for online.
6. Microsoft MSN Bot Live in the Wild! - The most recent webmaster world forum thread on the new MSNBOT.
7. Someone at MS just got banned! - A webmaster world forum member first reported Microsoft's new crawling activity in early April of 2003.
8. Microsoft prototype crawler - Another webmaster world thread started shortly after the above thread.
9. Google vs Microsoft Part 2 - Yet one more webmaster world forum on what Microsoft is up to with their recent crawling of the web.

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