Posted by: Megan Amick, Marketing Coordinator

Microsoft has recently launched its new search engine called Bing. Bing was designed to be easy to use and efficiently return simple results. In addition, it’s also being promoted as a decision-making tool.  For example, if you’re unsure about where you’d like to eat out, Bing can help you find the right restaurant.

This new product launch from Microsoft joins various other search engine products that have been released recently, including the Wolfram|Alpha search engine. But Bing is also another attempt, once again, by Microsoft to steal market share back from Google. (Google’s share of searches keeps growing and is now over 70%.) Bing is promising that this time the product is different.

With this promise many online marketers are testing Bing, and there is quite a bit of online buzz about the new search engine’s performance. The advantages that advertisers are discovering is that Bing offers an updated look, features categorical listings, saves your search history, and is returning innovative results. I’ve performed some of my own searches on Bing and found it to return results that Google doesn’t list and are very useful, relevant, and informative. However, there are disadvantages that Bing faces, mostly that it’s difficult to contend with the Google brand. Plus, it changes how you search, and many searchers might not want change. With all of this in mind, Bing is worth checking out to discover if you prefer it.

If you would like to read more about news, updates, and critiques on Microsoft’s Bing, visit the following links:
MediaPost – Have You Ever Binged Yourself?
New York Post – Microsoft ‘Bing’ing It on Google
MediaPost – Microsoft Faces Bing Challenge
The Business Insider – It’s Time for Microsoft to Face Reality About Search and the Internet
MediaPost – Crossing Google’s Chasm: Three Bing Blunders