Microsoft recently entered into talks with News Corporation over a plan that would remove links to their news content from Google, while also providing exclusive access to Bing. An even broader approach has been rumored, with Microsoft proposing similar deals to other online publishers. Such drastic measures are being viewed as a direct assault on Google’s position in the search market.

It’s still unclear whether this would have any significant impact within the search marketplace. Publishers may be attracted to these deals because current online ad models have not generated the revenue they had hoped for. However, if these arrangements became more widespread, consumers may be unhappy with less robust search results. Microsoft’s actions could be viewed as hostile to the current internet culture, which could lead to a Bing backlash.

While Google has yet to encounter a competitor this aggressive, they are holding on to market share. Bing is currently gaining, but at Yahoo’s expense. However, the prospect of deals like the one with News Corp may test Google’s dominance. They recently conceded to some of this pressure by stating it would allow publishers of paid content to limit the number of free articles accessed through the site.

Tags: Bing, Google, Microsoft, News Corporation, Search, Search Engines, Yahoo