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I’m Likin’ Bing

July 6th, 2009 | 10 comments

While I’m addicted to search like most people, I’m not married to a particular provider.  I have a load of search engines in my Firefox search drop-down list which, conceptually, lets me choose the most appropriate one to get the fastest access to the best results.  That said, Google has been my default search engine for as long as I can remember and I’ll usually hack through what Google feeds back to me before I bother with others.  Just lazy.

Since I’m never happy with anything and feel the need to tinker with everything, I changed my default search engine to Bing a few weeks ago.  I like it.  It’s not life-changing or anything, but I’m impressed with the results and the flexibility it provides.  There are three things in particular I like. 

  • Each returned entry has more follow-on links than Google provides.  If I’m really just looking for the “Downloads” link, for example, I don’t have to navigate to the home page of the searched site and click on that link.  It’s in the Bing entry.  Yeah, Google does this sometimes, but it’s much more frequently done with Bing.  For some sites there is even a search box for the found site inside the the Bing entry (see below).

bing

  • I like the “Related Searches” list in the sidebar.  In search, sometimes it’s all about how you enter what you’re looking for.  When I don’t get what I want, I often find that clicking on one of the related searches gets me there fast just because other keywords were better than those I entered.
  • Images.  I can’t imagine why, but Bing returns a much better list of images than Google.  They’re organized better, too.  When you see an image close to what you’re looking for, you simply click on “show similar images” and you get more sizes and varieties of similar images.  Nicely done.
  • Sports results.  I search for sports scores and standings frequently.  See below, Bing just does a better job.

Bing - Red Sox Google - Red Sox

Note here that I didn’t include the results themselves as a differentiator.  I think that the Bing results are slightly better, but it’s not yet clear to me that this is so.  The presentation of search results, though, is much nicer in Bing, IMO.  For now, I’m a convert.

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July 6th, 2009 | Category: Misc Thoughts | 10 comments
  • http://www.searchanimal.net/ Popular Searches

    I too like Bing. I have been a Yahoo guy for as long as I can remember. I liked the one click for just about anything….Google though was my real preference when I really wanted to search.

  • http://www.searchanimal.net Popular Searches

    I too like Bing. I have been a Yahoo guy for as long as I can remember. I liked the one click for just about anything….Google though was my real preference when I really wanted to search.

  • http://www.abso-bloody-lutely.com/ Adirec Torytski

    The statements regarding the images is right on the nail. Doesn’t seem to be a suitable explanation – Yet! but they definitely do current return a better list of images at Bing than Google for the same search. Also that option to click on show similar imagines comes in very handy. I also have a variety of options but previously also went straight to Google and will now perhaps give Bing a bit more of a chance just based on the other points you have raised.

    No doubt there will be more upgrades and improvements as well, as long as they remain on top of it and keep doing what they are only better than some others…

    Thanks
    Adirec

  • http://www.abso-bloody-lutely.com/ Adirec Torytski

    The statements regarding the images is right on the nail. Doesn’t seem to be a suitable explanation – Yet! but they definitely do current return a better list of images at Bing than Google for the same search. Also that option to click on show similar imagines comes in very handy. I also have a variety of options but previously also went straight to Google and will now perhaps give Bing a bit more of a chance just based on the other points you have raised.

    No doubt there will be more upgrades and improvements as well, as long as they remain on top of it and keep doing what they are only better than some others…

    Thanks
    Adirec

  • http://www.melatoninfaq.com/ melatoninlady

    Microsoft Bing would be the closet competitor of Google. but i still use Google because it shows more relevant results on the serp.

  • http://www.arthritistreatmentlab.com/ George

    i have been evaluating the search results of Microsoft Bing compared to Google and they are comparable. Bing gives almost the same relevant search results just like Google.

  • http://www.acnetreatmentdigest.com Acneboy

    Bing search engine gives almost the same search results as Google. Looks like Google will now have a tough competition when it comes to search engine technology.

  • http://www.anxietydepressionfaq.com/ Jade

    Bing does give search results much like Google but i would have to say that Google still gives more relevant search results.

  • http://www.projectorlampinfo.com Kymm

    i think that Bing is not as good as Google. Google would still index new websites faster than Bing. Microsoft would still need a lot of catching to do with GoogleBot.

  • http://www.acnetreatmentdigest.com/ Acneboy

    Bing search engine gives almost the same search results as Google. Looks like Google will now have a tough competition when it comes to search engine technology.