Satya Nadella made some announcements during his keynote speech at PubCon in Las Vegas this morning.

In his speech Satya talked about the evolution of search engines from directories to the use of keywords but suggested there is more to come in the form of semantics.

Taking search to the next level means we need a better handle on what intent users have when they use the queries they do, what the actual meaning of the content on a particular web page is and how those users take the action they do and why.

He said Microsoft is committed to providing an ecosystem that both advertisers and publishers can tap into to provide very meaningful and profitable connections with consumers.

Live Search is committed to delivering better search results, simplifying key tasks and innovating on the business model – Live Search cashback is a great example of how Microsoft are doing this: http://search.live.com/cashback

In addition Satya announced Project Silk Road - http://search.live.com/developers

Silk Road is the latest release of the Live Search APIs which will allow publishers and developers to build a content management system for their site and gives them the ability to monetize through Search Ads.

As Angus Norton explains on the Live Search Blog, Silk Road is “a broad range of tools and services we're offering online publishers and developers to help them generate traffic, increase engagement on their sites, drive insight, and boost productivity and agility.”

Read the full post and learn how to sign up on the Live Search Blog

Thanks

Mel

PS - We used Twitter to give followers real-time commentary on Satya’s speech.

To access our feed check out: http://Twitter.com/adCenterBlog and if you’re on Facebook why not become a fan of our adCenter Community Facebook Page?