Bing as a search engine from Microsoft to withstand against Google and Yahoo in the war have undergone some major updates in 2009. Some distinguished updates are:
Facebook and Bing Update Relationship:
Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, will provide Facebook users with a more detailed search experience. Facebook users will now have full access to several features that are available on Bing, instead of just a few links as they previously had. (ie) Facebook users will get better search results with the help of new tools available to them. When an user search for any keyword in facebook it shows the result for web pages through bing.com.
Bing will now show some Twitter Updates :
Microsoft said that Bing, the search engine would begin including the latest output of popular Twitter users in its search results. This change will affect a limited number of twitter searches. When users enter, for example, “Al Gore Twitter,” “Al Gore tweets” or “@algore” in the Bing search box, the top result will be the most recent Twitter updates from the former vice president. Although all major search engines index Twitter profiles and some older tweets, Bing is the first major search engine that is integrating with Twitter in this way. This could help Bing keep up the buzz it has generated in the past month.
Bing Maps got a 248,000+ sq. kilometers new imagery update that comes with a shiny, new toy to play with. Bing Maps World tour is a new rich way of viewing imagery updates each month by navigating or watching the slide show that takes us to a new world.
Here is a quick list of features in the new application: Silver light Interface, Custom Icons,Tabbed Menu, Release Highlights and Info,Map Options,Slide show controls, Filter Release Data, Zoom to World Map, Share Map, Show Full screen, Map Style,Map Help,Slide Show,Explore!,Navigation Bar,and Inset Map.
Bing gets Visual Search Update :
Bing offers searchers a new option for displaying results. When the users reach Bing.com/visualsearch the can see about 50 initial classes and galleries through which they can search for brand, people and places. Images of hundreds of politicians, celebrities, travel destinations and handbags will be presented to searchers for quick searching.
New features and updates to Bing Reference:
Bing reference is a search vertical of Bing that is based on Powerset Technologies that indexes wikipedia content and displays it in an enhanced view within Bing. The side-pane on the right for Bing Reference has been significantly updated, and besides displaying an outline of the article, it also allows in-text searchers, “highlighter”, image search, video search, as well as integration with Bing Maps.
Bing toolbar bundled with Java update :
Bing toolbar provides an easy mechanism within browser. During installation of java users are given option for installing bing toolbar. Users can remove the check in the checkbox, if they do not wish to download the Bing Toolbar. When Bing toolbar is installed new features are added. They are:
Selective Search – We can broaden or narrow our search
Onclick access – Quickly access MSN services including hotmail and messenger.
Two changes are made. They are:
1) Explicit images and video content has been separated as a single domain, explicit.bing.net.This is invisible to the end customer, but allows for filtering of that content by domain which makes it much easier for customers at all levels to block this content regardless of what the SafeSearch settings might be.
2) In addition source url information in the query string for images and video content will be returned so that companies who already use this method of filtering will be able to catch explicit content on Bing along with everything else they are already blocking for their customers.
Conclusion:
As one of the major search engines Bing has undergone many updates in 2009 where some are listed here. As a Bing user awaiting for many more drastic changes in the current year.
Disclaimer:The post is completely based on individual thoughts and SEO Services Group bears no responsibilities for the thoughts reflected in the post.
Link building is an important process of SEO. If you want to rank high on Bing, get other sites to link back to your website. Bing will see your site as popular and reward you with high rankings.