The dominant search engine is Google. That is well understood by the average Internet searcher and by search engine optimization professionals (SEOs). Google currently is the largest volume player on the search engine landscape. With the recent announcement of new search technology, the giant Microsoft Corporation plans to make inroads into Google’s search leadership position.

Most optimization efforts by website owners and search engine optimization experts have been geared toward achieving high search engine rankings in Google. With the marketing and financial muscle of Microsoft behind the revised MSN Search, some thought should be given to ranking well in that search engine too.

The question faced by SEOs and by the many millions of website owners is whether their Google optimization techniques will play well with MSN Search as well.

The good news for most website owners is much of the website optimization value for Google is also helpful in MSN Search. The differences are more those of component emphasis between the two search algorithms rather than diametrically opposed techniques. While many standard Google optimization methods will also work well in MSN, there are many other optimization applications that require more attention.

By understanding the similarities and differences between the MSN and Google search algorithms, it is possible to secure high rankings in both search engines.