Bing It On: Microsoft Rolls Out Its New Search Engine

Frederic Lardinois — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:14:29 -0800

It was no secret that Microsoft was getting ready to roll out a new search engine, and today, the company began the official roll-out of Bing - the successor of the company's less than successful Live Search efforts. Formerly known as Kumo, Bing, which should become available worldwide by June 3, is Microsoft's latest attempt to steal market share away from Google. According to Microsoft, Bing, while providing a good general search experience, wants to focus on providing an especially good user experience in four verticals: making a purchase decision, planning a trip, researching a health condition, and finding a local business.

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]]> For the most part, Bing's interface resembles that of today's Live Search, with a large 'cover image' on the front page that surrounds the search box. The major difference in the user interface is the addition of guided searches in the left sidebar, though Microsoft says that the real changes are under the hood. The company argues that it can bring a new approach to Internet search by providing a richer, easier, and more organized search experience. This, for example, means that Bing will integrate data from consumer reviews when a search brings up a restaurant, for example.

Good Enough is Not Good Enough in the Search Business

According to Microsoft, "30 percent of searches are abandoned without a satisfactory result." We haven't been able to put Bing through its paces yet, so it remains to be seen if it actually works as well as Microsoft promises it will. We have seen too many promises in the area that have remained unfulfilled (we're looking at you, Cuil), so we will hold back any judgment until we get to test Bing ourselves.

One thing is clear, though; a search engine that is only 'good enough' will not be enough to gain back any market share from Google, which now virtually controls the search engine market. Microsoft argues that this large amount of market share can make Google slow to innovate, but then, it remains to be seen if Bing can offer enough innovation to entice users to switch. Yahoo Search, after all, is also innovating furiously, but hasn't been able to capture any new market share lately.

Rebranding Virtual Earth, Farecast, Cashback

Always happy to change brand names, Microsoft also announced that Virtual Earth, its mapping platform, will now be branded as Bing Maps for Enterprise. Travel search engine Farecast, formerly known as Live Search Farecast will now become Bing Travel, and the Live Cashback program will now be Bing Cashback.

Discover Bing

Microsoft also launched a new site, Discover Bing, that goes into all the details of how Bing works and the decision process behind the creation of it. And if you still can't get enough news about Bing, our friends over at CNet also feature an in-depth look at how Bing came to be.

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Sun to Distribute MSN Toolbar with Java

Frederic Lardinois — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:40:26 -0800

We have written a lot about Microsoft's struggle to gain back market share from Google in the search engine market. Microsoft's latest attempt at this is a distribution deal with Sun. Starting today, Sun will distribute the MSN Toolbar to users in the U.S. who download the Java Runtime Engine for Internet Explorer. Given that Java is installed on virtually every computer, this new deal should give Microsoft's search market share a bit of a boost, as the MSN Toolbar uses Live Search as its default search engine.

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We asked Sun for a statement about this deal and Eric Klein, Sun's VP of Java marketing, told us that "Sun carefully evaluates including value-added applications with the JRE on a number of levels - including business, technical, and user experience." Sun, according to Klein, found that Microsoft's toolbar provided a "great user experience." However, Klein also noted that "this agreement has favorable business terms for Sun."

Better User Experience?

It is arguable whether Live Search really provides a better user experience than Google Search (though the MSN Toolbar might actually be more useful for mainstream users than the Google Toolbar), but we can't help but wonder if the "favorable business terms" took precedence over the user experience here.

Market Share

It will probably take a few months before we can really say if this deal will really boost Live Search's market share, but according to Brad Goldberg, the general manager of Microsoft's Search Business Group, about 35% of all search queries on Live Search come from toolbars, the address bar, or search forms built into the browser. This indicates that this deal with Sun does indeed have the potential to drive more traffic to Microsoft's search engine, but it remains to be seen if users will go along with this switch.