Internet users and webmasters have a variety of search engines to choose from these days. Each engine offers standard search results along with features that make them unique. Bing is one of the newest search engines on the scene, one that has the potential to go toe-to-toe with Google, the undisputed search engine king.
What is Bing?
Bing is a search engine developed by software giant Microsoft. It is actually a revamped version of Live Search, Windows Live and MSN Search, each of which failed to put a chink in Google’s armor. Though it gives you all the basics, Bing is being advertised as decision engine, due to the fact that is delivers more details about results than other search engines. For instance, if you take your mouse and slide it to the right of the results onto the orange circle, a side window will appear giving you a brief description of the website. That isn’t the only thing that makes Bing stand out as the plethora of features gives this search engine an identity all its own.
Video Previews
One of the most appealing features of Bing involves integrated video previews. Underneath the “Video” tab, you can enter queries that are specific to video content. After the results are returned, you can move your mouse over the desired video and get a nice comprehensive preview of what the clip contains.
Enhanced Shopping Options
Another unique feature integrated into the Bing search engine is a tool that makes shopping online much easier. For example, if you click the “Shopping” tab and then enter “shoes” into the search box, you will get thousands of relevant results featuring the items and prices offered by various online retailers that sell shoes. If you are specific with your search, you may find that some products qualify for special “Bing Cashbacks” as an added bonus.
Travel Tools
Bing also has features geared toward users who frequently purchase airline tickets online. If you want to book a flight from Detroit to Las Vegas, the results will come back displaying links to CheapFlights.com as well as other relevant sites. If you click on the recommended link and go through the Bing Travel interface, you can instantly compare prices against the provided schedule and determine when is the best time to schedule your flight. This is definitely a great feature internet users can put to use.
Cash-back Program
As we mentioned before, if you search for something on the Shopping tab, you may see that a particular item qualifies for a Bing Cashback, which gives you certain percentage of your money back. These items are a part of the Bing CashbackpProgram. After purchasing an eligible item, you receive an email confirmation detailing your cashback savings. Microsoft claims that you can make up to $2,500 a year with this program and receive your rewards via check, direct deposit or PayPal transfer. In order to qualify for the Bing Cashback program, you must be at least 18 years old and have a Windows Live account.
Conclusion
Bing is certainly worth checking out and far more usable than Microsoft’s previous attempts. Though efficient, its search results are still lacking in terms of the quantity and relevant ranking you get from Google. However, that might all change if Microsoft and Yahoo combine their search expertise, which according to a late July announcement, could be very soon.
September 11th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
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.