WebProNews

Not to be outdone by Google or Yahoo, Microsoft lifted the lid on two new search marketing tools and an accreditation program called adExcellence.

The first tool, called Microsoft adCenter Add-in for Excel 2007, is designed to help adCenter customers more easily research keywords for their paid search advertising campaigns.

As the name suggests, it plugs into Excel, and allows users to build keyword lists and plan strategies based on attributes like relevance, historical cost information, and projected volume.

Available after January 8 of next year, the Add-in accesses data from from Microsoft’s Keyword Services Platform.

The other tool is a beta version of a portal called Webmaster Center, which was designed specifically for webmasters and search engine optimizers. Like Google's Webmaster Central, Microsoft's site is intended as a resource for webmasters seeking better organic rankings on Live Search. 

Microsoft says this includes information about how Live Search crawls and indexes site pages; site map creation and submission; statistics about Web sites currently indexed by Live Search; consolidated content submission guidelines; and new content and community resources.

Microsoft also launched its adExcellence program, which is a training program for marketers looking to become certified adCenter experts. Accredited members will be listed in the adExcellence Membership Directory and will receive an adExcellence logo for use on their Web sites.