MSN recently launched its new and improved search engine bing.com, and the enhanced features are worth a closer look. Will this new engine affect your page traffic? Let’s break it down…

Web Search

A standard web search on Bing returns a not-so-standard search engine results page (SERP). Listings appear with the meta title followed by just two lines of text and the URL. Standard. The new feature, however, is a detailed extended preview that pulls more information directly from the page and appears in a box to the right when you hover over the listing. This added information is similar in theory to Google’s  extended snippets, which reinforces the need for quality SEO to appear throughout your entire site. 

Local listings appear at the top of the page, and you can submit your property in the Local Listing Center. There is no guarantee you will appear in this section, but you can be sure to include accurate, complete information to improve your chances.

Local Search

An additional list of local-only results is found by clicking on the Local link in the top left corner. This page includes sponsored listings, a map, and enhanced advance search options for results re-prioritization by rating, price amenities, etc. These enhanced advance search options mean that submission to the Local Listing Center with completed and accurate information—pricing, star rating, amenities, etc.—is a valuable (free) move that can boost your chance of appearing in this section.

Hotels hoping to make bookings directly through their own site will be displeased to see that the “Book It” button next to each listing leads directly to an Orbitz booking engine. However, this added simplicity and explicit call to action may contribute to increased bookings—even if only through Orbitz.

More Options

Additional standard search options include Images, Videos, Shopping, News and Maps. It is worth noting that the new Image search is far superior to MSN Live’s old one and can by limited by size, layout, color, etc. Another great resource is the “More” link at the top of the page where you’ll find xRank, which provides a (very) general snapshot of your keyword’s search volume over the past month. You can also check out xRank Today to see the day’s most popular searches by category (celebrities, musicians, etc.) as well as a keyword cloud highlighting the current most popular search topics.

Overall

I hate to say it because I love Google oh so much, but Bing is coming in at a close second. The reason I like these two is because they aren’t cluttered with news feeds, advertisements and other distracting crap (cough cough, Yahoo!). I go to search engines to search, which is right in line with Bing’s anti-search overload campaign. Bing touts itself as the first “decision engine”, here not to help you search through endless lists of irrelevant Internet garbage but to let you “Bing and decide”. Well, you decide. How do you feel about Microsoft’s latest search engine?

I can’t say I’ll be switching my default browser from Google to Bing any time soon. It was enough for me to even admit I like it. But it is certainly one to watch. Plus, it’s just so pretty with its high-res photo backgrounds featuring faraway exotic places. (Scroll over the photo for information and random facts about the destination).