In its best effort to compete with Google, Microsoft is spending $80 to $100 million dollars in print, TV and radio ads to promote Bing, a new search engine that is replacing Microsoft's under-performing Live Search model.
Officially launching on Wednesday, June 3, 2009, Bing promises to make online search a more satisfying experience – a goal inspired by Microsoft research showing that most people who search online do not find exactly what they are looking for. After multiple searches, they simply give up and move on.
Though Bing is live now, additional improvements are set to roll out in the future, so it may be some time before it's clear just how effective and, in turn, popular Bing will be.
Notable features of Bing include:
- Implementing a hover feature to display more information about each listing without having to click through to the webpage.
- Displaying “Related Searches†in the top left-hand corner of search results, presumably to help you improve your results within the category you are searching.
- Displaying “Search History†underneath “Related Searches†so that you can easily return to a search that may have been helpful to you before. You can actually click the “See All†button and it will display for you the exact date and time when you made these searches through Bing. You can also “Clear All†search history results or turn this feature off completely.
- Displaying video search results in an easily-scannable video grouping as opposed to Google's vertical display.
- Offering “cashback savings†on products you find and purchase through Bing. Though you pay full price at checkout, “You can request your cashback about 60 days after your purchase (the waiting period varies by store) and with at least $5 in your cashback account.â€
Bing is also noticeably different from Google in its aesthetic appeal, as it will feature a different background image every day of the year.
As with all search engine developments, CyberMark will monitor the growth of Bing and other emerging search engines (like Wolfram Alpha) and, if necessary, adjust our SEO techniques accordingly. From our initial research, CyberMark clients are ranking well with Bing, though newer clients may take a little longer to show up in the search results.
What do you think? Search Bing now.
Related Blog Posts:
Wolfram Alpha Engine Poised to Change the Way We Search
How to Protect Your Rankings in Response to New Google Changes
