Shaking Up Search
Search Marketing expert Christian Menniss introduces Microsoft's latest contribution to the industry and asks if it will be sufficient to change mainstream web-user habits.
Christian Menniss About the author
Bing, Microsoft's latest attempt at gaining some credible market share in the search engine industry was finally unveiled on 28th May 2009. The name, along with some new features, opens the latest chapter in Microsoft's quest to beat Google and Yahoo! in the search engine wars. With Google enjoying 64% of searches in the US market, Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do with only 8.2% share. Will Bing be up to the challenge?
First there was MSN Search, then Windows Live, and now it's Bing (via Kumos).
Early signs look good according to internet marketing research company ComScore: 'Microsoft Sites increased its average daily penetration among U.S. searchers from 13.8 percent during the period of May 26-30 to 15.5 percent during the period of June 2-6, 2009, an indication that the search engine is reaching more people than before.'
Of course, this surge could be as a result of users simply trying out the new site. Microsoft face an uphill struggle to change the search habits of mainstream internet users.
Yusuf Mehdi, Senior Vice President of the Online Audience Business Group who demonstrated Bing at the All Things Digital D7 conference, reveals: "We needed a brand that was as fresh and new -
a name that was memorable, short, easy to spell, and that would function well as a URL around the world - the name needed to clearly communicate that this is something new, to invite you to come back, to re-introduce you to our new and improved service and encourage you to give it a try."
