Microsoft and HP sign search engine deal

15:00 8th January 2010

Bing could be set to play an increasingly important role in search engine marketing strategies after Microsoft agreed a new search deal with HP.

Under the agreement, the world's largest PC maker will install Bing as the default search engine on all of its computers.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, outlined what the deal would mean during a speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, reports AFP.

"Bing will become the default search engine and MSN the default home page on HP machines in 42 countries around the world, which is certainly very, very exciting from our perspective," said Mr Ballmer.

The development could help Bing to obtain a greater share of the search market and also force search engine marketing professionals to adopt a new approach - one which focuses more on taking advantage of the opportunities offered by Microsoft's service.

Currently, Google dominates the search market and the majority of search engine marketing budgets are directed towards improving performance within its services.

Microsoft replaced its Live Search product with Bing, which it markets as the decision engine, last year as part of its plan to challenge Google's market dominance.

The most recent comScore rankings suggest Bing already has a firm foothold in the market, as 10.3 per cent of searches made in the US in November 2009 used the service.