Microsoft launch CPA based search/cashback offer

I’ve only got a few moments for this, but this is an interesting development to follow: Microsoft is offering a cashback for search plan, where advertisers work on a CPA basis.

The basics of this are that users search using Microsoft Live’s cashback site, and when they buy, they are “credited” with funds which can be withdrawn after $5 has been accumulated. The funds are paidout via PayPal, check, and possibly other methods.

Advertisers who sign up are charged on a CPA basis, so search isn’t the key, but the purchase action off search provides the value. Microsoft provides a lead-in for advertisers:

Advertise at Live Search cashback

• Risk-Free: Pay Only for Sales
• List Your Products at a Fixed CPA-locking in Your ROI
• Set your Commissions by Category or SKU
• Easy Set Up

There’s also a visual tour of using the Live Search cashback at searchengineland.

This is not some small startup trying to buy marketshare, it’s Microsoft, so this is a development worth watching. I’ve got a few questions myself to see how this plays out:

• Can user search behavior be bought?
• How much money will it take to change a user’s search behavior?
• Where is the relevance threshold where relevance has a utility point equal or lower than the “get paid” utility point?
• How much of this data will Microsoft be willing to share?

I’ve worked on projects with Microsoft and their incentive marketing programs, so I have high confidence that this was a well thought out and deeply planned trial. I can’t wait to start seeing the feedback from users getting paid and the success stories from advertisers.