An In-Depth Exploration of Bing: A Look at How Microsoft's Bing Search Engine Functions

Most individuals use a search engine frequently, whether for work or personal tasks. While many rely on Google for their searches, the second largest search engine, Bing, also holds a significant presence. If you haven't explored it yet, you might be wondering: what is Bing and how does it compare to other search engines like Google?

This article provides an in-depth look at some of Bing's features and what it offers to its users. Additionally, you'll find a comparison of Bing and Google search later on. But first, let's dive into the story of Bing's parent company, Microsoft, and its origins.

A Brief Overview of Microsoft's History

The rise of the personal computer as a powerful business tool owes much to a company started by two visionary men, Paul Allen and Bill Gates. In 1975, they created a version of BASIC for one of the earliest personal computers, the Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) Altair. Their early success led them to establish their own software company, Micro-Soft.

Fast forward over three decades, one corporate rebranding, and several operating system releases later, Microsoft has become a global leader in the tech industry. Meanwhile, Gates and Allen have amassed incredible wealth, with Gates ranked as the fourth richest individual in the world [source: Investopedia].

Microsoft's influence goes beyond operating systems. The company also created the widely used Office suite of productivity tools, the Xbox gaming console, the Zune portable music player, and much more. However, despite its immense size, Microsoft does not dominate every market it enters. Its competition in the Internet search engine sector has been intense, with Google maintaining a commanding 91% market share. To more effectively challenge Google, Microsoft launched Bing, replacing its older products like Live Search and MSN Search.

However, it's important to note that Microsoft does not categorize Bing as a typical web search engine. To understand why and how Microsoft has chosen to describe its new offering, continue reading.

Bing: The Engine for Making Decisions

Microsoft labels Bing as a "decision engine." With an estimated 1.11 to 1.13 billion websites on the Internet as of February 2024, it's clear how important an efficient search method is for any search engine's success [source: PC World].

So, what's the distinction between a search engine and a decision engine? Perhaps it's more of a philosophical difference. According to Microsoft, Bing aims to reduce the clutter in search results and streamline tasks to help users make more informed decisions.

Bing targets four key areas: shopping, travel, local services, and health, with the main goal of simplifying the search process. It begins with a homepage featuring a search box centered on a vibrant image and a top row of links for video, news, shopping, images, travel, and maps. As you type, Bing offers an Autosuggest feature that suggests words based on the initial letters you enter, presenting options to select if any match your intent. Similar to Autosuggest, Best Match provides what Bing deems the most relevant result.

Bing organizes search results to make navigation easier for users, starting with the Explore Pane. Located on the left side of the results page, the Explore Pane helps users sift through search results more efficiently. It also includes a list of recent searches and suggests related searches that Bing thinks might interest you.

Deep Links allow users to preview a website without clicking the link. When sufficient data is available, hovering over a link in the search results shows a preview, giving you a glimpse of what to expect if you decide to click through.

Instant Answers provides quick, relevant information for queries such as flight numbers or sports scores. For time-sensitive or location-based questions, Bing customizes results to highlight the most important details, helping you save time.

Bing Travel, once powered by Farecast technology, enabled users to find low-cost flights and hotel bookings. Farecast was known for its accuracy, returning over 75% of searches with precise results, and helping users save an average of $55 on airfare [source: McNichol]. Although Microsoft discontinued Farecast in 2014, Bing continues to offer a robust travel experience, including flight and hotel search functionalities.

So how does a computer program manage all of this? The answer lies in the programming code. Similar to its competitor Google, Bing relies on a complex set of rules or instructions that every search undergoes to refine and filter the most relevant results. These rules, known as algorithms, are kept confidential, much like the secret recipe of a certain fast-food chicken chain, as Microsoft is not inclined to share the intricacies of how Bing's system operates in public forums.

Now that you're familiar with what Bing offers, it's time to compare it to the search engine preferred by over 75% of Internet users worldwide.

Bing vs. Google

You've probably heard it a thousand times: David versus Goliath. The underdog rarely wins and seldom pulls off a surprise victory. This concept mirrors Bing's position. With Google reigning as the dominant search engine, no competitor, except perhaps Yahoo, has been able to make much of an impact. While Google’s core business is search, Microsoft’s focus spans many industries. However, Google’s concentrated effort has earned it the lion’s share of the search engine market.

Microsoft's Windows Live Search was part of the company's broader Live suite of products. Unlike Bing, which serves as a dedicated decision engine, Live Search was not focused exclusively on search and couldn’t compete with Google’s dominance. This gap in the market led Microsoft to create Bing.

To challenge Google, Microsoft gave Bing a visually striking homepage, often featuring vibrant and sometimes dramatic images that change daily. This stands in stark contrast to Google's minimalist, blank white page. Embedded in these images are what Microsoft calls "hotspots." Hovering your mouse over these hotspots reveals informational boxes about the photo. For example, an image of Mt. Vesuvius includes hotspots that provide details on its catastrophic eruption in AD 79, with links to learn more.

Both Bing and Google offer similar tools, such as tabs to filter searches and preference menus. Users can select from categories like video, images, shopping, news, and maps, and also set preferences to filter explicit content. Google's success is largely attributed to its powerful search algorithm and patented PageRank system. Bing counters with its Best Match feature, which sorts search results by relevance, similar to PageRank. For example, searching for "NASCAR" in Bing will prominently display NASCAR.com as the top result.

One of Microsoft's boldest strategies, which may have even raised eyebrows at Google, was its 10-year deal to power Yahoo's search in July 2009. In return, Yahoo helped promote advertising for both Yahoo and Bing searches. At that time, Yahoo held the second-largest share of the search market at 20 percent. By 2010, Bing had fully taken over Yahoo's search operations. During the first five years, Yahoo received 88 percent of the advertising revenue. As part of the deal, Microsoft also ensured search revenue for 18 months in each country where it operated [source: Fried].

Microsoft is said to have spent $80 million promoting Bing [source: McNichol]. Did this boost the company's market share? In July 2009, shortly after Bing's launch, Microsoft's search market share rose to 10 percent [source Ngo]. However, as of early 2024, Bing's global market share stands at approximately 3.4%, though it still outperforms Yahoo, which holds just 1.1% [source: Statista].

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