Microsoft Announces New Search Engine at Bing.com

Microsoft announced today a new search engine that is decision based and “goes beyond search to help customers deal with information overload”. As of today they have unveiled www.Bing.com.

As stated in their press release:

Bing is specifically designed to build on the benefits of today’s search engines but begins to move beyond this experience with a new approach to user experience and intuitive tools to help customers make better decisions, focusing initially on four key vertical areas: making a purchase decision, planning a trip, researching a health condition or finding a local business. The result of this new approach is an important beginning for a new and more powerful kind of search service, which Microsoft is calling a Decision Engine, designed to empower people to gain insight and knowledge from the Web, moving more quickly to important decisions.

So how is this different from other search engines?

According to Forrester here is what is being said:

• Bing focuses on delivering answers, not Web pages. Microsoft research shows (and Forrester’s research affirms) that users rely more and more on search engines to deliver solutions…hotel reservations, movie listings, gift ideas, newsclip replays…not just a directory of Web sites.  Bing was developed to help consumers make decisions, not just to catalog content.
• Bing organizes content/results by searcher (not algorithm) relevance.  Using research of what types of results have proven relevant to former searchers, Microsoft has organized its Bing interface to deliver the content users are most likely to value, rather than just content that matches an algorithmic formula.
• Bing filters out results that aren’t relevant.  Instead of giving users an overwhelming volume of results, Bing acts as a concierge to help point users to the results most likely to meet their need.

What does Bing mean for interactive marketers?

• More, quality search inventory.
  Today most advertisers buy search ads just with Google and Yahoo because Microsoft has a measly 8% share of searches — not enough reach to make buying search ads with MS worth the trouble.  Forrester expects Bing to change that.  We expect Bing to appeal to the savvy searcher seeking more relevant search results.
• A new approach to SEO.
  Instead of Bing showing all sites that match the search engine’s algorithm, it will show just three results for a given “subcategory” related to a search. For example, a search for “Britney Spears” may organize by the subcategories “biography,” “videos,” “music” and “concert information.”  This means SEO strategies will adjust in order to optimize Web content for select sub categories, rather than select keywords only.
• Search engines will become information portals.
  Search engines have long been used as gateways to Web content. But as a decisioning engine, Bing introduces a search engine that actually delivers Web content without sending users away to other destination sites.  A search for “airfare to Denver” shows available fares, pricing trends, a buy or wait recommendation, and a link to purchase.  Since we expect other search engines to follow Bing’s lead, this means marketers should expect increased costs for search and display ads.  We also expect online media planners to adjust the sites where they buy.  We expect consumers to frequent Bing (and other similar search engines in its wake) instead of other portals (Yahoo) and preferred destination sites.

What do you think?

Tagged as: Bing, decision engine, Microsoft, online, Optimization, SEO, strategies, Strategy