Bing Search Volume Drops Following Social-Focused Updates
September 7, 2012
Few search engines have the capacity and the reach to compete with Google, But Microsoft’s Bing had slowly become a threat to the search giant. However, Hitwise reported that Bing had reportedly lost 4% of a drop in search volume this July. Neowin.net reported on the loss in the article, “Bing Search Volume Drops 4%,” and the possible reasons behind the small fall.
We learn:
“Hitwise says that July’s estimated 4% drop in searches came on the heels of a 5% gain in May, which is around the time Microsoft launched Bing’s ‘Sidebar’ feature, alongside a major social-focused update to the search engine. Even though Hitwise speculates that the update could be behind Bing’s loss, we’re not so sure, since it really wasn’t that significant of a change, in terms of Bing’s basic function.”
Numbers like this fluctuate regularly, and Hitwise’s results were based on estimates, but the number should still be a concern for Microsoft. What does Microsoft have to do to build consistently its share of search traffic? We think the heavy integration into new Windows products will help, but perhaps the company should take note and listen to users who were unhappy with the switch to social.
Andrea Hayden, September 07, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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