Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, speaking at the SMX West conference in Santa Clara on Tuesday, told the audience that "the No. 1 thing that Google benefits from in search is they did it right first. We started later. There’s a value to incumbency."
Ballmer’s conversation with Search Engine Land editor-in-chief Danny Sullivan explored a number of aspects of the convergence between social media and search engine optimization (SEO), but focused heavily on the role of Microsoft’s Bing in the search market.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Nick Eaton reported that, according to Ballmer, Microsoft plans to continue its determined expansion to new countries, improve the relevance of its results, and maintain its "aggressive" marketing campaigns.
CNET search reporter Tom Krazit said that Ballmer "appears to be taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to Silicon Valley’s startup phenomenon du jour: Twitter," noting that although the Microsoft CEO said that he maintains an account at the microblogging service for posting updates on high school basketball, the company’s official stance has been fairly hands-off.
