Search Engine Optimization for Bing
Microsoft's announcement of the new Bing search engine is one of the biggest Internet search stories of 2009. And search engine optimization specialists have found that the latest service from Microsoft boasts a lot more than just a sleek interface. Bing offers features that lets users refine the scope of their searches in new and interesting ways. It also comes packaged with a range of features like Instant Answers, mobile accessibility, and local search. Even those loyal to Google's powerful engine and suite of features owe it to themselves to give this sleek new engine a test drive. And for the serious webmaster and search engine optimization simply must familiarize themselves with Bing. And that's what this guide will help you do.
Bing's Features
So what can Bing offer? A lot, actually. But will it be enough to challenge Google?
Bing already comes equipped with a range of features. And there's a lot of stuff that enterprising Webmasters and search engine optimization specialists should pay attention to. Here's are the most important aspects of Bing.
- Users can hone the scope of their query: Depending on who you ask, this is either an adequate copy of Google's refined search options, or a revolutionary new system of helping users find exactly what they want. Who's right? It's still too early to say, but look for some fierce competition between Google and Microsoft in this area. If that happens, then the winners will be the rest of us who use search engines regularly.
- Prominent "Related Searches" feature: While Google has this feature, it's far more prominent in Bing's search result page. This could mean that Bing will focus on this tool to get a leg up over Google.
- Bing Explorer Pane: This is another way Bing tries to help users refine their search. Users can browse through pictures, videos, blogs and news results that match their searches.
- Instant Answers: Ask Bing a question, and it will try its best to answer it. Google already has the basics of an instant answers system implemented, so it will be interesting to see which search engine develops a more refined answer system.
- Quick Preview for search results: Much less annoying that other "quick preview" tools we've seen. Bing has small dot that a user can mouse over and get a succinct preview of each search result.
- Image and Video search without pagination: Unlike Google's image and video search, BIng lets users browse image and video results on a single page.
- Sentiment Extraction: A rather clunky term for Bing's product reviews feature. This will summarize a range of user and expert reviews for products entered.
- xRank Bing's xRank feature tracks in real time which celebrities are hot on the Internet, and which ones are not. Sound superfluous? Yes, but it could be the alpha debut of a trend tracking tool that's primed to compete with Google Trends.
Search Engine Optimization for Bing
Here are the best SEO tactics for the Bing search engine
Once the Yahoo/Bing cross-implementation is complete, Bing's search algorithm will power between 25% and 30% of Internet searches. That's a significant amount of traffic no matter how you look at it. And as far as search engines go, Bing is still in its infancy. Expect to see lots of changes during Bing's first couple of years. But that does not mean that you should simply ignore Bing in the meantime. Optimizing for Bing is crucial. Here are some of the things you can do right now to make sure your Website is primed for great results in Bing.
- Get exact domain matches: This is important in Google as well, but it appears as if Bing places a lot of importance on domain names that mach searches exactly. That means that the Website www.hockeyhelmets.com will rank when the query "hockey helmets" is entered. But don't worry if www.hockeyhelmets.com is already taken, as Bing seems to grant authority to domains that end in .biz, .info or .us.
- Sign up for the Bing Webmaster Center: Yes, Bing now needs to be a part of all future SEO campaigns. That means that you child sign up for Bing Webmaster tools. Bing's services don't offer the extensive suit that Google does, but the Bing team is promising new features very soon.
- Optimize your nontextual content: Bing seems to place more emphasis on images, videos and audio than Google does. Optimization means more than just words these days.
- Study Bing's "Related Searches" box: Microsoft has placed a "related searches" box prominently on the search results page. That means that a more users will be clicking on those keywords. And that means that you should be optimizing for those keywords too.
- Do your own research: These are exciting times for SEO, because there's a whole host of things to uncover about Bing's algorithm. We've only scratched the surface here. We think every good SEO specialist should be conduction their own research. If you study what works and what doesn't for your Websites (while monitoring other Website's rankings) then you may be able to find the next big breakthrough to getting great Bing rankings.
Bing vs. Google
An early head-to-head between the two leading search engines.
So how does Bing compare to Google? The guys at Techno Buffalo have an early assessment. This video shows what Bing features are similar to Google's and what ones are different. Check it out.
What People are Saying About Bing on Twitter
What's the latest news and opinion about Bing? Find out here.
Get an unfiltered list of the latest comments about Bing. What do people love or hate about Bing? Find out on here.
by searchcircus
searchcircus
We're a Cleveland, Ohio based Internet marketing firm that specializes in organic search engine optimization and social medial marketing. We'll be using... more »
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