It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like the ubiquitous, “I googled you.” But in the quest to define the differences between a helpful Google search and Bing by MSN, we “binged” “Amtrak Train Schedule“.
Via the site BingvsGoogle.com, you can search for your own business and see the results side by side to get an idea of how you show up on each engine.
First off, we noticed that in comparison to Google’s “plain vanilla” interface, Bing has some nice visual flair. The left hand side has a bar that keeps your search history (see lower left corner of image above). Also, a great feature of Bing is the ability to preview the content on a potential page before clicking on it. This could definitely save time clicking back and forth between pages, but it becomes clear that the content on the front page of your site (what is summarized) had better be engaging and relevant.
As of November 2009, Bing has acquired an approximate 10.3% market share for search since its launch in May. The response to Bing has been mixed, with many tech pundits saying “it’s nice”, which is the equivalent of saying that a blind date has, “a nice personality.“ Overall, there are some great new features, such as:
- Social Media Integration: Bing has buttons for joining any business that is SM enabled. Another added bonus is that if you go to bing.com/twitter you can search up-to-the-minute tweets.
- Reviews: Bing has summarized reviews for businesses with expanded information such as a rating system.
- Expanded Search Keywords: this makes Bing a great search engine for research. According to the Pew Research Center Publications, “The internet is a go-to source. In general, more people turn to the internet (at home, work, libraries or other places) than any other source of information and support, including experts and family members.” Below is an example of how a medical search term—”Stevens Johnson Syndrome” is extended by the categories of conditions, medications and procedures.
Now look at how Google deals with the same query. It is obvious the company focuses more on ways to search information than it does on how to segment the information to make it easier to understand.
Bing does have some fantastic new features, but does it have the full package or “Killer App” that makes it a must use? That has yet to be seen, but with continued improvement and innovation, we may have a very serious contender. And Cuil, we’re still waiting to hear from you!