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PPC, Local and what people think about Bing

Reading what people are saying about Bing is fascinating because every criticism of the results I’ve seen is based on something other than the actual algorithm.

Some bloggers are saying that Bing doesn’t have the right sponsored links showing up which is interesting because that isn’t the core feature of a search engine. Google has set the bar very high with AdWords because the adverts are so relevant and high quality that people actually find them useful. The fact Google spends a lot of time promoting and refining the system to entice as many advertisers as possible gives AdWords a huge inventory advantage over anybody else.

Another major issue will be local results – Google is on a mission with the enhanced local dashboard to get as many local companies signed up to Google Local as possible so they can build a huge inventory of accurate data. Microsoft needs to offer something better if they want to compete.

The Mirror has an interesting analysis of the iPhone 3G search results saying that:

we’re not getting the information we’d like to see thrown up when we type in a heavily searched for product, like iPhone 3G or Palm Pre: just a few sponsored links at the top.

Bing shows the following results for “iPhone 3G“:

  • www.apple.com/iphone
  • www.apple.com/uk/iphone
  • www.o2.co.uk/iphone
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone
  • reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/​0,39030107,49297328,00.htm
  • shop.o2.co.uk/promo/​iphoneindex/Pay_And_Go/​3G
  • www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/19/​3g_​iphone
  • shop.o2.co.uk/promo/iphoneindex
  • store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_​iphone/family/​iphone
  • www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?​ReviewID=2145

While Google shows:

  • www.apple.com/uk/iphone/
  • www.apple.com/iphone/
  • www.o2.co.uk/iphone
  • www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/3357867/The-Apple-iPhone-3G-and-me.html
  • www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/211809/apple-iphone-3g.html
  • news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7443543.stm
  • stuff.tv/Review/Apple-iPhone-3G/
  • www.trustedreviews.com/apple/news/2008/06/09/iPhone-3G-The-Full-Details-Disappointments/p1

I actually think the Bing results are better in this case if you want to buy an iPhone although if you want a review then perhaps the Google results are better. Certainly nobody could say one set was better than the other.

Microsoft needs to figure out exactly what people want when they search – from what people are saying so far it’s not the organic results that matter. The way to win the search war seems to be by building an inventory of Local, PPC, Shopping, Image and Video results and Google is unstoppable in that respect.

BY Patrick Altoft AT 8:46am ON Tuesday, 2 June 2009

Patrick Altoft is Director of Search at Branded3 and has worked in the SEO industry for over 10 years. With experience across some of the worlds largest brands as well as startup businesses Patrick is well known in the industry and speaks regularly at the major SEO conferences and events. Follow Patrick on Twitter or Google+

Comments

  • Matthew Oxley

    I also prefer the results given for the Iphone. They must be doing something right with their algo, as they also have my site #1 for the main Industry phrase :)

    I wonder how much they are going to try and use demographic data from Hotmail/messenger etc to compete on the personalised level – do you see any way they could leverage thier 1.6% share in Facebook to grab our demographics based on our FB cookie?

  • http://www.bluelightseo.co.uk Blueligth SEO

    I actually think the Bing results are better in this case if you want to buy an iPhone although if you want a review then perhaps the Google results are better. Certainly nobody could say one set was better than the other.”

    Surely if you were searching for an iPhone review you would type “iPhone Review” and not just iPhone. Just my opinion.

    I think in terms of relevance a lot of Bings results are quite good, although in some cases there are problems, for example, say you are looking for a Universal Power Supply(UPS) normally you would abbreviate and put UPS, however this only brings up UPS the couriers and nothing else.

    Perhaps they would change this like this, but at the moment it is not great for those kind of searches.

  • S

    Bing is actually awesome

  • http://www.seoco.co.uk Dave Eaves

    My site rocks in the results so I am definitely pro badda bing. #1 for SEO blog – these are clearly good results.

  • Pingback: June 4th 2009 - Wednesday Online Marketing Wrap Up | SEO & Online Reputation Management Blog | One Result

  • http://www.brooksdigitalmarketing.co.uk Jason Brooks

    I’m getting good results too. I hope they don’t start tweaking things! All in all though, what is the Bing deal? Theyve got a looooong way to go before I’l put any considerable effort into SEOing for their algo.

  • http://www.toasteggme.com kumo

    No doubt that Bing is better in terms of search results. But it’s not fair to compare it with Google as they have all the advantages including resources and publicity.

  • http://www.schlesingerlaw.com Personl Injury Florida

    I second that about bing not changing their algorithms. My results have been great with bing. I’m sure they will eventually change, but I feel that bing will start getting lots of traffic.

  • First Last

    Bing is gay.

  • http://www.niallflynn.ie Niall Flynn

    Stylish and independently wealthy, I agree :)

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