You probably have heard about the launch of Microsoft’s new “decision” engine, Bing, and with Microsoft spending $80 million on an ad campaign to promote it, they expect you to not only know about it, but be very grateful for it.
The advertising seems to have had a big effect on the search market. Search volume on Bing trumped Yahoo! last week, eating up 17% of the market share while Google saw an 8% dip. Whether it was pure curiosity remains to be seen.
What Bing’s Boasting
As Microsoft claims in its Bing commercials, we have all fallen victim to “search overload”, which suggests that search engine results pages (SERPs) are comprised of a clutter of links that, while credible in the eyes of the engine, are not offering us specific answers to our search queries – hence, the “decision engine”.
The goal of Bing is to allow the user to find an answer to their search query in the most efficient manner, without having to click-through a bunch of listings or manually refine the query. It aims to accomplish this by an enhanced results page, which includes more detailed listings that provide the website’s most important links, contact info, schedule, or a recent news posting when appropriate; hover-over call out boxes that provide a snippet of information from the listing related to the search term and deeper website links; and a left-hand navigation providing recommended category links to instantly refine the results.
Where Bing Shines
I think Bing’s unique value proposition is the fact that it creates an interaction between the engine and the user. I like hovering over the listings and reading some quick facts that relate to my search term. It seems that I am saving time by gathering snippets of information from various sites all at once and getting an idea of whether the site is worth visiting by simply hovering over a set of listings.
Users will reward convenience, and by amplifying the listings, Bing is positioned to gain a loyal audience. For example, a search on Bing for “red sox” will render the following:
Without clicking-through to any sites, I am presented with the Sox’s current schedule, record, standing, and streak. This was actually all the information I was curious about at the moment so no need to dig any deeper, Bing has answered my query.
You may spend more time on Bing’s SERP than other engines, but you will likely arrive at the answer faster because you will not be hitting the back button to click-through to other listings or manually refining your search as much. And the more time you spend on Bing’s results pages, the happier they are.
Bing’s Impact on SEO
For you marketers out there, I know you’re asking what this means for SEO efforts.
My first inclination is that organic CTRs will be relatively lower on Bing. By allowing users to access more information on the SERP without the need to click-through, users will be more selective. The common theme of clicking on a listing on Google or Yahoo! and navigating back to the results to find a better match seems less likely to occur on Bing.
It is well-regarded that MSN’s algorithms have placed higher priority on page content than Google and Yahoo!. Bing seems to endorse this notion as it makes use of certain parts of a website’s page content in its listing enhancements. So, MSN-focused SEO efforts should carry over to Bing-focused SEO efforts, with the intention to provide descriptive copy around the search term you are optimizing for.
Competition Benefits the Users
And what does Google think? Per usual, Google was very diplomatic. In a statement released last week:
“We welcome competition that helps deliver useful information to users and expands user choice. Having great competitors is a huge benefit to us and everyone in the search space—it makes us all work harder."
Certainly spoken like one who knows how big the chasm is between them and the competition.
Do I think Bing can close the Google chasm? No – at least for a long while. We are creatures of habit and morphing everyday Googlers into everyday Bingers overnight cannot be accomplished.
What Bing will do is raise the bar. Google has proven they can adapt with the landscape and everyone expects improvements to be made to their results over time. We should be grateful when new search engines come into the mix and shake things up. Their primary goal is to provide better, more relevant results that make searching for the right information easier.