Microsoft’s Bing search engine is on the rise after the company struck a deal with handset manufacturer Motorola to make it the default search engine on its mobiles, and new analytics data in the US revealed a gain in market share.
But SEO veterans are mixed as to whether businesses should be integrating Bing into their online marketing strategies.
Microsoft and Motorola announced the plan overnight, which will see the manufacturer introduce Bing search and map services onto Android smartphones in China.
It comes as Google, producer of the Android mobile operating system, is in the midst of a row with China after a number of cyber attacks were aimed at the company from within the country’s borders. Google has said it is considering abandoning its search practices within China.
The new services will begin this quarter, with Motorola to include bookmarks on mobile browsers and widgets on a number of handsets.
Additionally, new data from ComScore shows Bing’s market share in the US grew to 11.5% during February from 10.7% in January, equating to a 37% rise since its launch in June last year.
Additionally, Yahoo’s traffic decreased from 17% to 16.8%, while Google increased by just 0.1% to 65.5%. Yahoo has declined by 14% since Bing’s launch, while Google has largely remained at the 65% level.
But the SEO industry is mixed as to whether Bing is becoming a viable alternative, or supplement to Google marketing strategies. Reseo chief executive Chris Thomas says SMEs don’t need to waste their time.
“I wouldn’t be getting too worried about it at all, not when you have other websites delivering more traffic than Bing. I wouldn’t be doing much about it, Google is still delivering the majority of revenue ahead of others.”
Thomas says that while Bing could indeed become a competitor in the future, right now the numbers do not support any major move and says his company doesn’t bother with SEO on Bing.
“I think when the numbers start getting closer to 15%, and you have a trend where Google is starting drop, maybe then. With analytics you are looking at trends, and if you see opposite directions, with Bing gaining and Google rising, then you can make that assumption. But right now, the numbers are just so little.”
But Anup Batra, chief executive of Arrow Marketing, says Bing is a great opportunity for businesses.
“There is still an opportunity here because Bing is so much easier to optimise. The way Google optimises is through back-links and so on, but Bing works more by what’s on the page. This is good for many businesses. Bing is gaining importance as far as SEO is concerned in this regard.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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