Bing!

By now, everyone has seen the Microsoft commercials asking people “What has search overload done to us?” Taking an obvious jab at search giant Google, Microsoft points out all the insane, non-relevant pages people see in search results. However, Bing does not point out any of their features that make the engine unique, which is the major plus and should be capitalized on.

While people are not quite to the point of saying “Bing it” as they do “Google it,” it is obvious that Bing’s new engine is having an impact in the industry.  With a 9.3% market share (up 39% since April), Bing’s popularity has been steadily rising since its launch in early June, when I blogged about The New Bing and Some Cool Features from SMX Advanced.

 
Based on the Compete.com data above, Bing’s market share increased by 4.0% when compared to July 2009, and Google’s market share increased at a slower rate of 1.2% during the same time period.

To really see how the engine thinks about searches in a different way, I ran a search in Bing for “tickets to Hawaii,” as mentioned in one of their recent Bing commercial titled Bing Search Overload Syndrome: Hawaii. The following results appeared:

And then I did a search for “tickets to Hawaii” in Google:

While the major travel engines did appear in both results, I prefer the layout of Bing. It seems more user-friendly and unique, with typical PPC ads on the top and right side, but with new Related Searches on the left and an analysis of flight deals from major airports above the SEO results.

 
While the analysis is great, like so many Americans, I don’t live near Newark, Detroit or Atlanta, so these deals aren’t really applicable to me. There’s no way I’d ever use one of those deals. Bing should consider using the geo-targeting software used in their PPC platform, in their analysis section so I see results from Phoenix, Tucson and Los Angeles instead.  The top PPC ad does happen to be relevant since it mentions “non-stop flights from Phoenix to Hawaii,” which is exactly what I was looking for.
 
I could go on and on about the differences of Google, Yahoo and Bing all day, but the main thing I want to know is what the long-term effects will be. The popularity of Bing has continued to increase since it’s launch early in the summer, so it will be interesting to see how far Bing can tip the scale in their favor. My assumption is that it will continue to increase as Microsoft spends their $100 million Bing advertising budget, but within the next six months Google will trump the other smaller search engines again by releasing the next best thing.

About the Author: Ellen Stevens

As the Search Media Manager for Off Madison Ave’s interactive division, Mighty Interactive, Ellen develops and manages strategic online paid search and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaigns for clients of all sizes. She is also the head of the internship program at Off Madison Ave. Ellen uses her previous agency internship experience to be an effective mentor and help the students develop skills they will need professionally after graduation. Ellen graduated from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a certificate in international business.

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