Bing: Microsoft's Answer to the Search Engine

Microsoft entered the competitive realm of search engines in 2009, introducing Bing.com, a search engine that the parent company believes better addresses the needs of today's Internet users. The design and methods by which Bing does its job is the result of studies conducted by Microsoft in 2008 to understand where the holes were in the services provided by the then-current search engines.

Microsoft touts these functions of Bing as improvements for the Internet consumer: Provides a more organized search experience; delivers high quality results; and simplifies searching for the right information.

Bing Provides a More Organized Search Experience

At the website, Microsoft states that in their studies they found that 72 percent of consumers find search results on other search engines to be too disorganized. Bing is described as taking many of the search queries to analyze and organize, making the results easier to navigate. This organization results in what Bing refers to as Web Groups, what had heretofore been blue links on other search engines.

Another difference from other search engines that Microsoft boasts is a consistent query method and search results across the many genres, including text, maps, images and more. Unlike other search engines which deliver results on a "keyword-to URL mapping tool," which often does not provide the most organized results for the user.

Another feature of Bing that other search engines do not have is its ability to categorize search results. Perhaps you searched the term "arthritis." Categories which show up on Bing's search results, first page include: "arthritis diet," "arthritis symptoms" and "arthritis medication"--among others. For each category, a few search results are given. When you decide if you are seeking just general arthritis information, or find a category that best suits your needs, simply click on that category heading and Bing will take you to the search results in that category.

Bing Delivers High Quality Results

Throughout your search process, not just with the initial query, Bing has an auto suggest feature which aids many users in refining their search term(s). Another feature users will find is what Bing calls "best match." When a query is searched, Bing provides what it considers the "best match" for the query in a box at the top of the search results. For the term "arthritis," best match boxed an article from the Mayo Clinic; within that box are also top related searches to the query term.

Enhanced deep links is another feature that Bing feels sets them apart from other search engines. With deep links, the user can navigate the target site directly from the search engine page, eliminating the need to go to the main site and try to find the desired information from there.

Through their research, Microsoft ascertained that Internet users are often just looking for quick information or an answer to something such as local weather or flight arrival time. Additionally, there are what Bing refers to as "active answers," meaning the user is able to interact with the answer received right on the search page.

Bing Simplifies Searching for the Right Information

Microsoft's research lead them to find out that 66 percent of people are relying on the Internet to help them find information that will be useful to them in making decisions. The areas in which Internet users related they most often looked for help were: "shopping; researching the symptoms of an illness; making travel arrangements; and looking for local restaurants, entertainment and other activities."

This is where Bing turns most fully into a decision engine. Not only does it provide the information searched for, but it does so in a manner to aid the user to make a decision based on the information found by optimizing their search engine for those areas in which users most often look for help. In shopping, users can find information such as price comparisons and user reviews; in local, users can deep search within each search result to find information such as phone numbers, rates and more.

There is much more to Bing.com than what can be written here. A visit to their product guide will help you understand more of its features. If you haven't checked it out yet, give it a try. I admit to initial skepticism, but find myself using Bing.com more and more often.

Source: http://www.discoverbing.com/behindbing/productGuide.aspx