Happy Friday. Just a short entry today. When I wrote my Bing SEO guide Google’s market share was slowly shrinking. Google went from a 95% market share just a few years ago to closer to 75% now.
I wanted to revisit why people might choose to use Bing over Google. Today is a particularly good day for this blog because Bing has just announced you can use them to order food and hotels without having to visit the website first.
Bing hasn’t implemented this feature for all food outlets yet but it is in the pipeline. If they include a successful method for ordering food, services and products online before Google can implement something similar then Bing is set to grow huge.
Who has the best homepage
On the surface these two engines are very similar. Google has gone for a very simple design which has been here to fore very effective for them. It has been the gateway to the internet for the last decade and a half, but it hasn’t been enough in the past few years:
While Bing have gone a bit more extravagant with an animated background (shown static in the image below). It’s more visually pleasing and just as simple.
Bing also has trending topics on its front page which is their equivalent of the Google doodle. So with the two engines front pages so similar it is down to you to decide – which is best for me, which is the most relevant?
Luckily a program exists for that – Bing it on blind tests you on which engine gives you the most relevant results so you can truly tell which is the best search engine for yourself. And interestingly it has found that practically Bing is more popular than Google.
Why is Bing Eating into Google’s Market Share
If you are 20+ you are part of the Google generation. Google was the search engine that everybody used(uses). Now with windows phones, tablets and Internet explorer a new generation is being introduced to Bing, and finding they quite like it.
Also lots of people are set in their ways. They want the large brand to appear not the independent store. Bing’s algorithm favours large brands so this could be another reason – people simply are starting to prefer Bing.
So Bing is getting the young smartphone generation. But they are also getting the old who don’t know what they are using to search and only care that it has an easy to us GUI (graphical user interface)
Bing Benefits
The fact that Bing’s market share has been growing says a lot. People tend to default to Google because it is the engine they are used to.
Most search engines follow Google’s model in how they look. Bing does has some clear features which make it different to Google but this is the first time that Microsoft has come up with such a clear advantage for Bing vs Google.
Generally people use the search engine which get’s them what they want the quickest and ordering straight from your search engine will definitely save time. Convenience is king – no longer content.
If we are able to order food online and book hotels I predict that it won’t be long before we are able to order a whole raft of things. Bing is leading this movement.
Bing has been good with innovation over the years. They introduced the similar image search which is now a feature on Google as well. They allow you to search by image licence for stock photos.
Now they are introducing online ordering. I predict that Bing will continue to grow. It currently does almost everything which Google does and more. As their algorithm is different to Google some people find they get better results from Bing and some from Google. Bing is no longer the new kid on the block so they are likely to continue eating into Google’s market share.
25/06/2015 – Google have launched a similar hotel booking service so the game of cat and mouse continues. Who will be the first to truly revolutionise the search game.
So Who is Winning in this war of Bing Vs Google
As other search engines are moving into Google’s territory it makes it important to focus your SEO efforts on more than one engine.
Google is still winning the overall war but with Bing eating so quickly and efficiantly into their market share how long will this remain?
Bing are a lot more open about how they work. They have a webmaster blog which hasn’t been updated recently but drops hints on how you can improve your SEO with them. Yahoo is now the default search engine for Firefox and allows for a personal homepage.
While Bing has been very open with SEO practices Google have left us in the dark. I have a short series on what we truly know about Google SEO. It is a little advanced but helps you decide what you think will help you rank on what engine:
Does Google uses social signals for SEO? – bing objectively does.
How much do we really know about Google’s algorithm
With Bing eating into Google’s market share I predict over the next few years Bing marketing specialists will start to pop up.
All search engines now have a very similar look and feel. Both Bing and Yahoo have their own distinct flavour. It is worth trying them all out and seeing which works best for you – specially if you run a website.
Coming soon:
Yahoo SEO guide
More on Bing and SEO:
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