Microsoft says the revamp comes following research which highlighted that “90% of people consult with a friend or expert before making a decision”.

“Increasingly, the web is about much more than simply finding information by navigating a topically organised graph of links,” said Qi Lu, president of Microsoft’s Online Services Division. “We’re evolving search in a way that recognizes new user paradigms like the growth of the social graph.”

The most significant development will see the introduction of a new toolbar, which aims to help users connect with friends and other online users. The toolbar – which will be located on the right hand side of all search results – will enable users to connect with Facebook friends whilst searching.

For instance, if you searched ‘Miami hotels’ you would continue to receive all of your standard search results, while Bing would also suggest Facebook friends who may have some knowledge around the topic. The social search results are to be based upon what online users ‘like’, where they’ve lived, shared photos and any other public Facebook information.

Along with Facebook, the toolbar will also flag up topic ‘experts’ from Twitter, Linkedin, Foursquare, Quora and surprisingly Google+.

Although the Bing update is set only to be implemented in the US for now, Microsoft’s new addition could mark the first real solution to integrating social networking information into a manageable and legible order.

What do you think to this update – is it something you would consider using?

It is important to note that it is just the organic results at this stage – Yahoo’s paid results are still powered by their own Yahoo Search Marketing platform. That will most likely be updated too at some point, but neither party has given a solid indication as to when, so it’s probably a while off yet.

For websites that ranked well organically in Bing and not so well in Yahoo, this is obviously a good thing, as those good results will be apparent in Yahoo now too. Conversely, sites that performed well in Yahoo but not Bing will probably see a dip in traffic.

Having said that, at least in the UK, Yahoo and Bing combined only accounted for around 6% of all searches (according to Hitwise), so any impact good or bad is likely to be a relative drop in the ocean.

@andyheaps

Google and Bing are always going to be at each other’s throats; it wouldn’t make any sense for either business if they weren’t. However, are they really the two we should all be focusing our attention on? Sure Bing is picking up pace and making some headway, but is it really a threat to Google’s internet dominance?

Bing believes that they don’t need to share the search pie with Google – the world of search is big enough for both of them, and at the end of the day, they’re both increasing the size of the pie. In other words, Bing has no unrealistic expectations of becoming the world’s biggest search engine.

The big question: Is there anybody big enough to take on Goliath? How about another breed of Goliath – like Facebook?

Facebook isn’t a search engine, so why is it a threat?

For some time now the traditional search engine has dominated the way we use the internet. It has gone through many evolutions, all of which share a similar format.  Yahoo, MSN, Google, and Bing – they’re undeniably alike.

According to a recent article at smartmoney.com, the argument has always been over who gets to be crowned ‘the gateway to the internet.’ Over time, Google has become the main portal to the internet’s wealth of information – either we start our browsers to see Google set as our home page, or we soon navigate toward it in search of answers.  The only other websites that have any similar sort of influence is social networking sites like Facebook.

So how could a social networking site supplant a search engine?

Firstly: Facebook is already a multi-purpose tool; it combines the defining elements of G-mail and Google chat. Who’s to say it couldn’t go one step further, and add a social aspect to the way we search for and retrieve information? People love convenience, and most people love Facebook. Adding some sort of social-based search function would most likely go down well, and what’s more, they’ve already got a base of 600 million users to launch it to.

Secondly: The biggest problem with search at the moment is the sheer amount of spam and useless content on the internet. A few of the newer up-start search engines have tried to combat this with a more social, user intense approach, whereby users engage in the search process and provide the results – basically taking control of the search process by providing the answers. I believe Facebook has, in a sense, already done this by creating Facebook Questions, a beta application that allows you to ask questions and get responses from random or likeminded people.

Thirdly: What makes Facebook Questions even more significant here is that it isn’t going to allow itself to be indexed by search engines like Google. By blocking the content, it is sending a clear message to Google that Facebook intends to stand on its own: that it doesn’t need Google’s traffic. Users will eventually be forced to decide between searching in Google and asking in Facebook – it all comes down to who knows you best and which is more convenient.

Do you believe that Facebook is Google’s main rival in the online world, not just in terms of social networking, but in the endless battle for overall domination of the internet?

(Photo: www.varunverma.org)

I was reminded of these events recently when I read an article about what is being referred to in the media as the “Bing Sting”.

Microsoft has had to defend itself recently against claims that it has stolen search results from Google.

During a Microsoft sponsored event in San Francisco, Google announced that it had laid a trap to prove that Microsoft had been “copying homework.” Google had manually linked some extremely obscure keywords to completely unrelated websites.  When searching Google and Bing, both search engines returned exactly the same results.

Microsoft has denied the claims and Bing’s corporate vice president Harry Shum has said, ”It’s not like we actually copy anything.” That is exactly what I told my maths teacher, but given the rivalry between these companies, I don’t think my excuse that we helped each other study would be believed.

Given the recent intensive TV advertising campaign showing that Bing is different and gives users exactly what they search for, rather than making random strangers impersonate a howler monkey, this could be a bitter blow in the ongoing tussle between these internet giants.

(Photo: topnews.net.nz)

There have been many rumours flying around recently regarding the development of real time search but now, during the opening days of the 2009 Web 2.0 summit, both Microsoft and Google have opened up.

Firstly, Qi Lu (President of Microsoft’s Online Services Division) confirmed rumours that Microsoft had struck a deal with both Twitter and Facebook to use Tweets and status updates within Bing.

Bing’s new Twitter functionality is available at http://www.bing.com/twitter (US only I’m afraid) and shows a tag cloud of the current most popular topics along with the ability to search Twitter which returns the most recent Tweets around your search as well as details of popular links that are being passed around.

This was closely followed by Google’s Marrisa Mayer (Vice President of Search Products and User Experience) announcing that Google will be launching its product, incorporating Tweets directly into Google SERPs within the next few months.

Obviously, comparisons can’t be made until both products are live (no doubt in beta), but things are certainly hotting up regarding real time. I, along with many, wait with baited breath to see both how Google will incorporate real time into its sometimes already cluttered results pages, and also how users will take to this new information on both search engines.

This is, of course, a false mock up. More information from Google can be found at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/rt-google-tweets-and-updates-and-search.html

With details of the deal between Microsoft and Yahoo now well and truly publicised (I even saw a piece in The Sun where a page 3 model was discussing what she liked about Bing), it is time to take a look at exactly what this means for the future of UK search, Yahoo and Bing.

29th July 2009 saw confirmation of a deal between Microsoft and Yahoo that will result in Microsoft taking ownership of Yahoo’s search activities for the next 10 years. Unlike past attempts to strike a deal with Yahoo from Microsoft and Google, this deal will see no upfront payments to Yahoo in favour of a revenue share model, instead Yahoo will receive 88% of the revenue from ad sales from its own sites for the first 5 years. Although still vulnerable to government regulators (a fate that ended the previous attempt at a Google / Yahoo partnership) the deal looks likely to stick and will have an impact across both businesses and search as a whole.

What’s in it for Yahoo?

Well, on top of the 88% revenue from ad sales on Yahoo properties, Yahoo will also benefit from not having to spend a penny (cent) on developing its own search technology. Initial figures being suggested are an income of $500 million per year and a $200 million per year saving in costs. Moving forward Yahoo will focus on the sale of billboard style advertising (banners, skyscrapers etc.) on the Web as well as developing its search properties to build upon the 550 million or so people that visit them each month.

What’s in it for Microsoft?

Well, firstly it does seem that Microsoft have the sweet end of the stick but they also have the responsibility and risk. By 2012 (or earlier) search across all Yahoo properties will go through Bing, in effect doubling market share in the UK from 4% to 8% and more than trebling market share in the US from 8% to 28%. While this may not seem like a major event given that Google has nearly 90% market share in UK search and 65% in the US, it does create a definitive rival, as it will allow Microsoft to focus their efforts without having to worry about Yahoo.

Paid search will run through Microsoft adCentre although it will no doubt be a huge operation to migrate Yahoo campaigns across.

What’s in it for UK Search?

If we look beyond UK search for a second in favour of the more impressive US figures, it can be seen that Bing is about to become a big player in search. 28% in the US market is a huge foothold from which to further chip away at Google and with the acquisition of the Yahoo search team, Microsoft have a plethora of resource, data and ideas available to further enhance Bing. Future enhancement of Bing combined with the release of Windows 7 (probably with Bing as the default search provider) and the huge marketing budget in excess of $100 million solely aimed at promoting Bing, will no doubt play in Microsoft’s favour putting the ball squarely in their hands. If they make a successful play and truly innovate as they promise, then a rise in market share in the US and the UK is on the cards. If however they fumble, which nobody outside of Google would like to see, then we all know who will be there to pick up the pieces.

For now, nothing changes, but by 2012 Microsoft will achieve a level of exposure in both UK and US search that can’t be ignored, even by people who currently consider Bing, adCentre and Yahoo just not worth the effort.

From competition comes innovation and the coming years in search should be very exciting indeed.

Source: UK hitwise.

With over 90% UK market share it appears that even the launch of Bing can’t stop the Google juggernaut. With 5 of the top 20 and 50% of the top 6 UK visited websites being Google or Google owned, figures like this really provide an insight on Google’s dominance of not only the search market but of all online traffic. Is this a bad thing? I don’t think so. Although Google appear to be taking over the world with moving into browsers, phones, operating systems (we all know a monopoly is never a good thing), it sometimes gets easy to forget how much Google have given back to the online community and for the most part, not asked for a penny.

Gmail, Google Analytics, Google Maps, Google Calendar to name just a few, are fantastic FREE products that really pushed the boundaries on quality online services. The prospect of Google Wave is another product that is really looking to change the way we communicate and this continual stream of innovative products is something I applaud Google for churning out time and time again.

At risk of sounding too much like a Google Fan Boy I’m a bit disappointed at their apparent disregard of the UK search market. The second biggest search market in the world has been almost neglected after the recent algorithm update. There has been some discussion on Twitter and elsewhere, about Google’s UK SERPS being ‘broken’, with some anomalous results appearing, and non-UK sites ranking higher than they perhaps ought to for some search terms. Even today I am still finding bizarre results containing foreign or completely irrelevant Government sites littering the first page. Let’s hope Google get round to correcting this sooner rather than later.

As a UK search user I was bitterly disappointed to see that virtually none of the features available in the US are available in the UK. The Bing promotional video really caught my eye and shows some cracking features such as the travel and shopping search. However in the UK version these features are either not navigable to or have been replaced by external service. Shopping search is done by ciao, travel section isn’t linked to and even the maps are handled by multimap.com overall disappointing. For the UK they have essentially re-skinned live search and added a related searches feature down the left.

The main question is whether Bing has enough about it to take some of Google’s UK market share. On launch we saw the predictable traffic spike and Bing became the UK’s second most popular search engine, but I would expect this to be a flash in the pan. As it stands, Bing has brought nothing new or exciting to the UK search table.

Microsoft presents…..Bing!!! (a.k.a Live search in a new dress)

With regards to launching the shopping and travel services in the UK, that could understandably be complicated; I’ve always been one for either launching things that will work well, or not launching them at all. But it’s the simpler things, such as the great addition of search history into the left hand column that have been omitted for no apparent reason.

Right now, Bing is riding the crest of an interest wave, this will soon die out and it will slip back behind Yahoo in the UK Search stakes. The most disappointing thing is that (for the US at least) Microsoft have actually created a very good product. Apart from the search, they’ve taken a lot of what Google has and improved upon it. When Microsoft come round to launching the full UK offering “later in the year, I imagine they’ll take some of Google’s market share; Bing certainly has enough about it to take Yahoo’s second position.

To the average searcher, this delay in launch will make no difference what so ever; to people in the digital industry it’s simply a minor annoyance. Once the launch comes around people will be talking about the quality of Bing UK’s results and how it’s improved (or not improved) on Google product search – not how the US got it months before.