Google vs. Bing – Which To Choose?

Byjoel

A long time ago, Yahoo! was the search engine of choice. Well, more of a directory than a search engine, there was a time when they were king of the hill.

Along came InfoSeek, Lycos, Altavista, Excite and a number of other search engines, including Microsoft’s MSN. By building the browser into the operating system, Microsoft hoped to dominate the web. It didn’t work out that way.

Google launched and seized the majority of search traffic with their superior algorithmic formulas. My, how quickly things can change.

Here we are in 2013. Google is still dominating the search space, but Microsoft’s Bing.com has come on the scene with some fairly impressive features.

I’ve tested both and the results are fairly similar. However, I have made a choice as to which search engine will be my default going forward.

I did a simple search for my name. Being the only “joel comm” in the world, the majority of search results are directly related to me.

Google returned 987,000 results. My blog comes up first, along with the Google Connect photo. That’s a good sign.

It’s followed by my Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles. Next is my Wikipedia page. Also good.

Google then tosses in some images of me, my YouTube channel, my iTunes search results and a couple websites that reference me. Of course going through other pages would reveal all kinds of content.

The right column pulls in my Wikipedia bio, but the associated photo is not the one that appears on my wiki page. In fact, it’s from six years ago.

Three of my books appear under my photo, but not my most recent title, KaChing.

Then Google suggests that people who search for me also search for Mike Filsaime, Jason Calacanis, T. Harv Eker and Tony Robbins.

google-jc
Click the image to see full size

Now let’s turn our attention to Bing.

First of all, Bing gave me 1,100,000 results. Big smile. 🙂

But even more impressive is the content that Bing created on the results page.

First of all, my blog ranks at the top and a number of sub-links are featured. It chose popular articles to list underneath the main header.

Next up is my Wiki page with a current photo, my LinkedIn profile with a photo, my Amazon results, Twitter profile with photo, eBay page, YouTube page and Google Plus page!

The center column features my Klout bio, photo and score. This was surprisingly pleasant to find.

The right column features my social results, pulling from Facebook and Twitter. I think this is important as the social networks are the best source for current search results. They demonstrate what people are talking about now. I like that photos of people who are engaging with my via social appear in the results as well. While I appreciate my main profiles being on the front page of both search engines, the social results measure the current pulse much better.

bing-jc
Click the image to see full size

The bottom line? I have officially changed my default search engine to use Bing. Google already owns too much of my personal information.

I recognize that there are other search choices, but I think I’m going to try Bing for a while and see if it continues to serve me.

What search engine do you prefer and why? Please use the comments form below to share your thoughts!

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35 Comments

  1. yes, sure. bing is not evil now because it have a huge competitor. Now webmasters need to use bing and tell our friends to switch to bing. However if bing will enough popular, it can go by same way as google now. So we need more competitors in search engine playground.

  2. I’ve been using Bing for a few months and so far I love it. I really like their image search feature. I am very active on Pinterest. With Bing, not only can I pin right from the image, but it adds the proper link back to the original source. I haven’t pinned with Google in while, but back when I did, every pin led right back to Google. That’s just one of the features I love about Bing.

  3. Hi Joel,
    I thought you’d be interested to know that Bing.com gives me absolutely no related results on the right side of the results page for “Joel Comm,” (no photos, no social media profile, niet,) even if I am logged in my… how to say it, Bing account? (Outlook? Not sure.) Same thing when not connected, the number of results I get are not one million either, it’s rather 51 million results! (51,600,000 exactly.)
    I’m in northern Africa (Algeria) btw… maybe it can be cool to try Bing, but making it my default search engine would be very risky, (and crazy hehe)

    Also, I got 896000 results about “joel comm” (without quoting marks) on Google. It’s either not a big difference with your results, or you may have reverted the 8 and 9 by mistake? : ) in any case I think it’s a very good idea to try Microsoft’s search engine from time to time, I just lost faith in it after all these years, kind of, but promise, i’ll try again.

    1. It’s not the most scientific experiment. Testing on my own name is a vanity play. But I find the results to be similar for most things I search for. I also like Bing’s pretty picture on the front page. 🙂

  5. Joel, eku ise o (meaning: well done). From my part of the world (Nigeria), Google remains a dominant KING! even for search results of your name. Google.com.ng returned 896,000 while Bing returned a far lesser 297,000.

    That (the figures), of course is not sufficient to judge as a search engine practitioner. The quality of results is a crucial determinant in this appraisal, G-O-O-G-L-E SERPS are by far more qualitative and liberal in this case.

    I posit that there is no qualitative BANG in BING results. Bing is “narrow-minded” and for Bing all searches begins and ends in America. Bing’s algorithm is not configured to factor searches from the “third world” or Africa for that matter, Bing is still in slumber in that respect.

    The same can be said for my name Aderemi Ojikutu (8,940 results Google; 4,530 results Bing).

  6. I am more interested in hearing what you have to say about targeting of a search engine for SEO of your websites. Most SEO’s and websites only talk about how to please/target google, how to get to first page of google etc. All the SEO work is geared towards google. What say you? Would you target bing for SEO of your websites?

  7. Hi Joel,
    Read your article tonight. Checked both Google & Bing. Google=940,000. Bing=986,000 but no photos of you, whereas Google had your recent photo on 1st line, older photos elsewhere. Google has definitely more info. The photos makes the search results easier on the eye than just the info line by line. Maybe Bing will incorporate images/photos later?

    When I did a search on my name, I found many posts from various places, but some were missing. Why were some included and some not? Not sure. Actually I prefer to be fly below the radar 🙂

    1. Interesting to see the different results. I made sure that I logged out of both my Google and Bing accounts before performing the searches, though I suppose cookies might have something to do with it.

  8. I switched to Bing sometime ago because their results are better. It is my feeling that Google is so caught up in their own hype about how they are serving the reader that they have stopped serving the reader. The results often, very often leave out the relevant content and included only the content to those huge sights who have won the seo linking war.

  9. I’m not the only Greg Jameson in the world, which means that I have to fight more for search engine placement than you do. When I search for my name, Google presents me with 68,400,000 results and I am vying for top position with an actor by the same name from England. Bing shows 769,000 results and I still compete with the chap from England. Since I’m not the only one with this name, the number of results isn’t nearly as important as getting the information I need.

    When I took the Bing challenge, my results were split almost equally, and I tend to use both search engines. I do like using Google calendar, and getting Google+ notifications though.

    I actually have it set up so that if I use Firefox, Google is my homepage, and if I use IE, Bing is my homepage. I guess there’s just no right answer (for me).

  10. Over the years I have had a love/hate relationship with Google. Love the traffic, hate the overnight, unannounced changes and lack of customer service.

    This last move though? The 100% removal of all organic keyword data, is the last straw.

    Bing, on the other hand, has consistently improved and worked hard to get people to move from Google.

    I think, with this latest change, that Google may have already done most of the hard work for them.

    I know I’m already moving that direction.

  11. Hi Joel,

    Found this on Triberr and heck, you really wrote it well! Great comparison indeed.

    For me, I never a fan of Bing though I use it now and then. Personally, I am still one of those in the billions that still trust and belive in the big G.

    Maybe that’s why I am still with Google after all this time. At least, that’s my take and hey, thanks for the lovely write.

    Shared on Triberr 🙂

    Reginald

  12. Hi Joel,
    KaBing! I agree with your take on search engines. The 800 gorilla wants to monopolize the Internet; which will greatly limit both search results and commerce to the hand selected few Google has financial interest in.

  13. i like both search engines, google and bing.
    I use google for their faster indexing and accuracy in results.
    Sometimes i wasn’t so pleased with what i found…

    Reflecting the truth and looking for the shareholders interest might be a daunting task 😉

  14. Hey Joel, I think it’s an interesting test and also find that all too often lately when I am searching for something Google give me old irrelevant information all because someone figured out how to game their search.
    Of course I also like that my photo came up on your Bing search as someone that knows about Joel Comm. 😉

  15. Interesting post.
    Funny, my son made me search for myself last night on Bing and Yahoo to see where I come up. I need to use Bing more as I don’t come up as high or at all on Bing. but on Yahoo and Google I am always in the 3 to 10.
    Having your photo come up on the search engines is good, right?

  17. Joel,
    I have been Very unhappy with the results I have gotten
    from google for the last year or so. I get a lot of bad/ outdated information back.

    google has been focusing too much time shoving google+ down everyone’s throat trying to unseat FB and it shows in their search results.

    In the mean time, it appears that bing has been focusing relentlessly on their search.

    I have been thinking seriously of dropping google as my default- and since you did some of the leg work for me- I will give bing a try.

    And, I will, of course, let you know IF I HATE IT. 😛

  18. I’m still primarily a google user although I think that’s just because of habit more than anything. Your example is inspiring to at least give bing more frequent searches to see if I’m won over. Just goes to show that bing doesn’t have to do that much to get converts. It just has to wait for google to do something to aggravate enough of its devoted users and they’ll make the switch in a heartbeat like you did. Google nixing search phrases from analytics is all I need to make a move so good timing on your post.

  20. I have primarily been a Googler, though I use Bing some and Firefox rarely, but this post makes me wonder. I note that Joel has not talked about the speeds of Google and Bing in throwing up results.

  21. I currently use StartPage as my default search engine – mainly because it claims to keep my searches “private” (even offering the option to open links found by proxy). I used to use Dogpile – wbich searches other engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. If I really want to look for what I can find, I use several different search engines.

  22. Hi Joel,
    great idea and great post. I just did the same, but had very different results. Obviously the search engines are more challenged with my rather common name> Axel Schultze, in particular having Axel Roses and the Boxer Axel Schultz in my ‘name space’ 🙂
    My Results:
    Google returned 392,000 findings
    Bing returned only 198,000
    Both returned my social presences, Wikipedia membership etc.
    Google depth:
    I jumped to page 10 on Google and it was all relevant content
    Bing depth:
    I jumped to page 5 (that’s their max – maybe for a reason)
    But the content had now already non matching info.

    Maybe Bing is good for very digital and very obvious results. But the relevance algorithm from Google is still unbeatable.

  23. Hey Joel,

    It’s nice seeing you all around Google and Bing! Definitely Bing is steaming out in search engine’s race and many are starting optimizing their efforts for Bing (I,too, am checking out Bing results page for my site and exploring their Webmaster tools.) It’s actually a good idea to venture into other search engines now because there are so much choices available for people in search industry, and too much focus on just a single search engine may make you exhausted and will definitely if any alarming things happen for your site as too many spam updates rolling out by Google and catching up most of the sites.

    I, for now, will go along with Bing after Google.

  24. Funny, I have been a Google fan for a long time, and have always worked around their tune for years. Most of my searches are for technical data and Google had always being the best for technical data. I had tried Bing a while back for technical data and was not impressed. Then yesterday I noticed that Bing is picking up all of my products and putting me on first, something that Google has not done in a while, and I was able to find more of the technical data I look for. :o) So now I have changed my tune too … Hello Bing! Goodbye Google.

  25. You’re basing your decision on how well Bing worked when you searched for yourself? I assume you were logged out of both and using a computer you’d never used to do the search before, right? Otherwise, the results were skewed. Not to mention the fact that Google+ is tightly integrated into Google which should be beneficial to anyone with a blog.

    I think a far better test would be do conduct random searches for a variety of things and most of them not people.

    1. I did log out of both services before testing. I have other reasons for choosing Bing. It’s not just the number of search results. I like the way they deliver. And so far, I’ve had no problem finding the right content regardless of what I am looking for. But you are totally free to test as you wish and discover how each works for you!

  26. I wouldn’t measure the number of results or the market shares today. As search results get more personal, I’m more interested in what I can use from a search.

    I’m currently using ISOOSI.com for more searches. I can get a basic answer from anything, but when I’m researching, I want to go beyond the brands and top of page stuff and find new ideas and differing frame of reference.

    Issooi has a web directory that will be as good or better than a Yahoo or BOTW built today. In addition, there tabs to do the same search on Google, Bing, Wikipedia, etc. They aren’t aggregated.. so you get the unique results you’d see if you visited them all, presented in the same format and with a clipboard in case you need to compile a list.

    I’m biased. I blog for Isoosi and so I didn’t get too excited about the various searches at first. Shared the link with a few people when it came out in beta and was surprised when they came back and told me about the TWITTER search.

    So I went back and tried it again. It’s as good as any Twitter search I’ve seen. You and I could likely find the results on Twitter.. but the average user is RAVING about it. They like how they can get to Twitter specifics on the same page as other searches.

    This is a beta site, and development continues, but I’m convinced enough to switch my standard training from Twitter to Isoosi.

    Great people behind it too. Including one blogger who I really enjoy 🙂

  27. Bing does a comparable search and delivers great results. People are attached to Google because of their past performance and AdSense!
    Anyway having a choice is good for the user.
    I love Bing’s home-page with the lovely image.

  28. I have never really tried bing the way you explained it below. Have always been a google loyal but with what you have said, its worth a try. If I may pose a question to you Joel, probably you will develop it to a post. “Which browser to use: Chrome or Firefox and maybe Explorer?” i PERSONALLY DONT USE EXPLORER. Great post and thanks. Is it okay if I borrow your salutation do good stuff for my blog?

  30. Hello Joel, Thanks for your compete guideline on this Topic .
    Google VS Bing Just amazing 😀 Well, when i target for USA Traffic i work with Bing, as well you know that USA people visits mostly Bing 🙂 But, i love Google 🙂

    Cheers

  31. Hi Joel,
    First of all thanks for the complete guide on this topic.
    Many people says or mention that Bing is not good. Well, according to me Bing is my first choice after Google.
    I am also getting traffic from Bing. From time to time, bing is improving its functionalities.

    I think it can be a good competitor of Google. 🙂

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