It seems like I can’t go 5 minutes listening to the radio without hearing one of those annoying commercials for Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine. You know the ones, right? “Search Overload is Over.” Clearly, Microsoft thinks they have done something great if they’re dumping all this money into advertising so, this Megan decided to investigate what the buzz about Bing is all about.
Bing, Microsoft’s answer to Google, was released last month to mixed reviews. Most will agree that it’s visually appealing. A visit to Bing.com will pull up a beautiful image that, when scrolled over in certain areas, gives information about the photo. I got the Tower Bridge, in London, which I learned is a combination drawbridge, suspension bridge, and museum. Huh – good to know.
Pretty homepage? Check. So far, so good, Bing.
But I know what you’re thinking: “sure it’s pretty, Megan, but can it search?” Well, that remains to be seen. (Hence, the ‘mixed reviews’ I mentioned earlier.)
Most reviewers indicate that Bing’s results are much more limited than Google’s, which is to be expected considering that Google has millions more categorized pages than newbie Bing. So if Google is, as Microsoft suggests, “search overload,” then Bing is “search underload,” which isn’t such a great thing for a search engine.
I decided to test Bing for myself. When I searched for “Boston Restaurants,” I got a results page that one could almost mistake for Google: a few sponsored links, followed by a handful of local listings next to a mini-map and then the standard 10 organic results. Different than Google though, Bing provides a left sidebar that includes related searches, search history, and (my favorite feature of the site) Bing Local.
Why is Bing Local so great? Well, for my ‘Boston Restaurant’ search, a click on Bing Local pulls up a simple list of restaurants: 10 organic results, 6 sponsored results (3 on top; 3 on the bottom) and a floating map that indicates their location. Each listing includes an address, phone number, website, and 1 click directions; cool, right? Even better, Bing Local’s right sidebar gives me the option to break down the list by preferences like rating, price, cuisine, atmosphere, and parking or to start a new, more specific search for related terms like “taverns, bars” or “European restaurants.” If Yelp and Google had a baby, it would be Bing Local.
Bing offers some fun features and a great layout, but its search capabilities are not comprehensive enough to replace Google…yet. That said, this Megan applauds Microsoft for coming up with an engine that got us Internet nerds to second guess Goliath Google, even if only for a second. Keep an eye on the little guy; he may just grow into something worthwhile.
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