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Posts Tagged ‘Bing’

Is Apple Search on the Way?

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

The recent resignation of Google CEO Eric Schmidt from Apple’s Board of Directors has rekindled the idea of Apple building a search engine of its own. Both companies are competitors on various fronts. For example, Google’s Chrome browser competes against Apple’s Safari, and Google’s android operating system for smartphones contends with Apple’s iPhone system.

A major reason tech experts assume Apple is launching search is due to a struggle to obtain a search function on the iPhone. A unique search engine would fit hand-in-hand with Apple’s Safari web browser. Apple may have missed out on an opportunity now that Microsoft and Yahoo! have negotiated a search deal, but the introduction of a new search tool could bring a third party into the race for search superiority.

A change could take users away from Google, which is currently the default search tool for Safari. Many Apple fans would make the switch, which could account for up to five percent of the search market, along with all iPhone users.

Despite the potential gains, Apple Search remains a rumor, as there is little proof of the company organizing a search program. Another possibility is a search engine with results powered by Google. A partnership could make sense. Google already pays Apple from earnings through Safari, and Apple could also use help in advertising.

While Apple does want to improve the search options for devices like the iPhone, the introduction of a full-fledged search engine seems unlikely at the moment. However, the possibility of a search partnership with Google is interesting, potentially giving Google an ally in its battle with Bing and Yahoo! while also certainly brining up antitrust whispers.

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Microsoft and Yahoo! Reach Search Deal

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

After three years of talks, Microsoft and Yahoo! have reached an agreement regarding online search. The ten-year deal gives Microsoft rights to Yahoo!’s search technology, while in return Yahoo! receives 88 percent commission from advertisements. Yahoo!, the number two search engine, and Bing, number three, are hoping to compile resources to take on Google. A main effect of the deal is that Yahoo!’s natural and paid search results will now be powered by Microsoft’s Bing.

The deal will triple Bing.com’s market share to nearly 30 percent. However, the battery still has a long way to go in the search battle, as Google’s share of the market rests at 65 percent. The deal has not been as kind to Yahoo!, as its stock has dropped 16 percent as of Thursday afternoon. Microsoft hopes that Yahoo!’s advertising ideas will attract users to Bing, while Yahoo! hopes to add features to its site that will allow it to compete with more socially-oriented websites such as Facebook.

One potential hang-up is that antitrust allegations are already swirling. Google previously ran into problems when trying to reach a deal with Yahoo!. However, there is a better chance that the Microsoft/Yahoo! partnership will be upheld because it could likely increase competition with Google.

Advertisers long to benefit from viable competition with Google. “It is good for our clients and our agencies and for regulators,” said Martin Sorrell, a chief executive of British advertising group WPP. The merger could level the field if advertisers draw more traffic through the Microsoft/Yahoo! collaboration.

This massive change in the search engine world could certainly benefit users, as each side will continually have incentive to improve. However, others are less optimistic and predict the deal will have little impact.

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Don’t Forget About Yahoo!

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

The media’s continued attention on the battle between Microsoft’s Bing.com and Google has somewhat pushed Yahoo! out of the picture. Downfall in revenue has forced Yahoo!, former number one search site, to resort to pink slipping workers. However, news has improved for Yahoo! of late, as the search engine released a new home page on Tuesday.

The new page features links to several popular third-party sites including Facebook and eBay. Users can see headlines from such sites by simply moving the cursor over a toolbar titled “My Favorites” on the left side of the page. Yahoo! has also introduced a “trend-setter” box that highlights the popular searches of the day. Some experts feel the move is an attempt to attract Microsoft back into talks regarding a search advertising deal.

Negotiations have been intermittent for months, with each party hoping that teaming up could give Google considerable competition. According to reports, talks are closer than ever, with Microsoft executives meeting with Yahoo! in California. In the deal, Microsoft would reportedly pay for several billion dollars worth of Yahoo!’s search advertising business. Despite this recent news, the tide can turn quickly: Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz once said that the search company would “be better off if we had never heard the word Microsoft.”

It is hard to deny that a deal would certainly bring more competition to Google. Users can only hope that such a battle will bring consistent improvement throughout the search realm.

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Bing vs. Google: One Month Later

Friday, July 10th, 2009

Much has been made about Microsoft’s search engine Bing.com since its launch last month. Some experts see it as a credible search alternative to Google, while others see it as a passing trend. According to StatCounter, Bing’s use increased by 0.5 percent in June, while Google’s dropped by 0.24 percent. Bing has also gained a slight U.S. market share from Google.

While Bing’s market share has increased, Google’s position has not changed. It is hard to determine where Bing stands due to such a small sample size. In fact, Google’s use may actually be increasing.

Bing still has a long way to come in its challenge to Google, which already holds search toolbars in top Internet browsers and does not have any glaring weaknesses. Because both search engines have similar attributes, it will be difficult for Bing to take on such a titan.

Despite the challenge, Microsoft continues its push, illustrated by numerous national TV spots promoting Bing. Bing has added results from Twitter, which Google has yet to master. Bing has narrowed the search down so that only entries from well-known “Tweeters” come up, and the results will not appear when searching only the person’s name.

The continued competition among search engines and their constant push to improve is great for user experience. Microsoft has shown that it is serious about competing with Google, but Bing still faces a daunting, if not impossible task.

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Google Adapts to Microblog Growth

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

The popularity of microblog websites such as Twitter has continued to increase in recent months. Despite this growth, users have found it challenging to search for specific posts throughout such sites. In response to this, Google is reportedly working to launch a new tool for these services.

Google has stated that real-time search is one of its greatest challenges. Links from Twitter rarely show up on a Google search results page, a problem that also confronts other search engines. Twitter has developed its own search tool to try to solve this problem, but results are limited only to Twitter entries and are sorted by date as opposed to by relevance.

While nothing has been confirmed yet, it appears that Google is working to address this situation. The search engine issued a statement expressing that their main goal was to provide all of the world’s information to its users: “While we don’t have anything to announce today, real-time information is important, and we’re looking at different ways to use this information to make Google more useful to our users.”

With the rapid increase of popularity to microblogging websites, Google’s new tool, if efficient, could greatly benefit the search engine. Along with the addition of Google Squared, the new microblog search tool could bring even more notoriety to Google, and recover some users who made the switch to Bing.

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Though Experimental, Google Squared Could Change Internet Searching

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Google has introduced Google Squared, an experimental search tool designed to gather an array of information on a topic. Results are organized on a spreadsheet, making it easy to view a variety of relevant data on a particular subject. Google Squared’s main objective is to eliminate the hassle of searching for information on a topical subject.

The launching of Google Squared can be seen as a response to increased competition from Microsoft’s recent launching of Bing. While Google Squared is only a tool used to improve searches, Google hopes that the new feature will bring buzz back to their search engine.

Google Squared can be helpful when comparing products; information such as price and other features can all be viewed on one page. Name, Image, and Description are three default categories. Google also adds a few other relevant columns to the square. Users can also add and delete columns as they wish. The source of the information can be found by hovering over each cell.

Wolfram Alpha, a similar search tool, was also launched recently. Here, information such as stock performance, synonyms, and historical timelines appear as results of an entry. This tool is more of a statistical analysis than Google Squared.

While the idea of Google Squared is great in theory, it remains in an experimental state, as it is often difficult to create an errorless spreadsheet. The tool has already been in the news for stating that Barack Obama and Prince William both were dead. While still a work in progress, Google Squared could eventually revolutionize Internet searches.

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Microsoft’s Bing Brings a New Look to Search Engines

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

Microsoft has introduced Bing, a new search engine that replaces its predecessor Live Search. With Google taking up most of the search engine market, Microsoft hopes that added features and a new name will make Bing a prominent search tool. While most of Microsoft’s search services previously came from MSN users, the company hopes that Bing will draw interest from all over the web.

While most reviews give Google a slight edge in search result content, Bing has a few features that make it unique. Perhaps the most useful is a small passage of text that appears as users scroll over results. This saves a lot of time as there is no longer a need to visit an entire web page to see if it has relevant information regarding the search topic. Bing also offers a related searches tab and a more user-friendly video search results page.

The emergence of Bing could push for innovation throughout the search engine realm as competition increases. Some users will switch to Bing, but Google is expected to remain at the front and center of the search engine world, as most people will not want to tolerate learning a new format.

Microsoft’s launching of Bing has again brought up talk of a possible Microsoft/Yahoo! merger down the road. The two giants would hope to team up in an effort to pool resources and bait users away from Google.

Bing brings new features to the search engine field and it could steal a small percentage of Google users. However, Bing will have to prove itself over a long term basis.

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