Bing it On

Bing launched a "blind test" challenge.

[matrix_jan]

Bing has launched a blind test challenge a la Pepsi Challenge. According to Bing their search results beat G's by 2:1.

[bingiton.com...]

[whoisgregg]

I have to say I was shocked when it turned out I picked Bing 5 out of 5 times.

[londrum]

i'm definitely not a big fan of google, but unfortunately my result came out 4 to 1 in their favour

[incrediBILL]

My blind test ended up Bing 2, Google 3.

Still not bad and often very subjective which to pick..

However, 1 search was obviously Google because the Bing results were 100% SEO manipulated and the Google results were obviously Panda/Penguin regurgitated results. Hard to say which one a person not knowledgeable in SEO would've picked.

[Leosghost]

G won 2 ( very close though within 2 positions each time, as in #1 slot against #2 slot ) against 3 outright draws..( both show the same at #1 slot )..

Interesting and useful SEO tool ( if it stays up* ;)..I wonder where it is "proxying" from ..for each of the search engine's results..

Will MS keep it up if they do not appear to be winning, will G block the access for the same reason it it appears to be reflecting adversely upon them..

[matrix_jan]

Will MS keep it up if they do not appear to be winning

It's a simple propagana machine. Despite what results you get they will always keep the "we beat G by 2:1" writings all over it.

It would be fair(and useful) is someone(third party) came up with the same thing but with open overall results.

[Leosghost]

BTW ..looking at the results with dragonfly, safe search appears to be on for G and is apparently not set in bing..

So remember that when you search..the bing results may be embarrassing or NSFW, or "family", if you are not alone, depending on what your search terms are, and if they have more than one meaning..

I can get definitely "not suitable for family" results on the bing side..with words that have more than one meaning..

PS..I'm not too concerned about "fair" in relation to it ..it is obviously PR..but it is already useful :)..

[engine]

Here's more detail on the test.

Bing vs Google Comparison Test [bing.com]

Since we launched Bing, we’ve conducted ongoing tests to measure our relevancy, assess customer feedback and satisfaction, and examine our product in many different ways. A while ago, we began to notice an interesting trend - Bing was beating Google in our search relevancy tests. After carefully following the trend data for several months, we decided to commission an independent study to test which web search results people prefer.

We built our Bing It On campaign to share these results with you and demonstrate that people can get better web search results on Bing than Google. With Bing It On, we’re encouraging you to try Bing – whether you’re a first time customer or an occasional visitor. You may be surprised at what Bing offers and how it can help you spend less time searching and more time doing.

I had them even.

[Leosghost]

Correction "safe search" is set to "moderate" on the G side ( overriding my "safe search off" setting ) ..the bing side "is not set"..so the previous advice holds ..so, if you are not alone..avoid words with "double meanings"..

[Andem]

My test results came out 3 for Google, 2 for Bing.

For the trained eye, this is not a blind test.. especially when you see something like "xxx +1'd this" below a result!

[incrediBILL]

Had my spousal unit try and she did it twice.

First time was Google 3: Bing 2 just like me and the second time was a DRAW.

[brotherhood of LAN]

I'd suggest sharing it on your social networks and let everyone discover which search engine suits them the best.

It was a draw for me.

[cabbie]

2 all with 1 draw.
This is good promotion because it demonstrates to the public that really there is nothing to be scared about in not using Google.
Results are at least equitable.
Now, if they can just make "Bing it On" as well known as "Google it"

[ascensions]

This is what Google gets for Panda. I call it Karma.

[TypicalSurfer]

Bing won 3 out of 5 with one draw.

Keep dumbing it down google!

[matrix_jan]

Please don't tell me you didn't know which side was which before favoring them :)

[TypicalSurfer]

I was actually surprised by the result. I will admit to bias on one search when ehow showed up, I'm so sick of that useless result (for anything) that I had to give the win to the one that didn't show it. Other than that the results were surprisingly similar with only a small edge (apparently in favor of bing) on my selections. Google certainly has fallen down on their core "product".

It's a decent promo by bing but if they really wanted to kick google in the pants they should go with Nickel Click Fridays or some such thing to get the advertisers jazzed.

Nickel clicks would energize the community support that google lost.

[bwnbwn]

Did you see the blog Bing did on the test results?
[bing.com...]

I was 3 Google 2 Bing.

We are not the ideal test group I know what Google/Bing results look like and I am not a good stat.

[Brett_Tabke]

4 Bing to 1G.

(I am not the target market here since bing is my default and I prefer their results)

I think the real question is if Google is going to have the brass to let this run?

[chicagohh]

3 Google - 2 Bing

Whoever came up with this bit of marketing should get a promotion.

[Brett_Tabke]

>Whoever came up with this bit of marketing should get a promotion.

thank you - I suggested it on Webmasterworld two months ago and mentioned it 4 times in the last month :-)

And in rethinking this - I was reminded where I got the idea from:

Blekko's 3 engine monte:
[blekko.com...]

[whoisgregg]

Whoever came up with this bit of marketing should get a promotion.

I believe BBDO was the marketing agency who created the original Pepsi Challenge. ;)

[nickreynolds]

Unfortunately it was easy to tell from the first question which was which, so then I was conscious of trying to overcome my inbuilt bias! Assuming they're using .com, because there were loads of irrelevant US geo relevant searches for one of my searches.
My final result was a draw

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Bing 4, Google 1

[loner]

Bing 2, draw 2, Goo 1

[ChanandlerBong]

Google 4.5 / Bing 0.5

One of those wins was so big that I wanted to give G about 3pts...or Bing -3!

I actually wanted Bing to win, but there you go.

[mromero]

Reporting from the Caribbean - 3 family members tried it.

Bing 4 Goo 1
Bing 4 Goo 1
Bing 3 Goo 2

[tedster]

Bing 4 - Google 1

[rajivatre]

For me
Bing 2
Draw 2
Google 1

Lately I have always been searching on Bing as secondary search engine. Many of the times google results are totally useless so naturally we go and search on bing.
So I was not surprised with the results.

Searching on Google is just a matter of habit now a days instead of quality of results. :)

I will try with my non technical friends and post their results as well.

Thanks
Rajiv

[LostOne]

Sadly as much as I dislike The Gorg these days it was

Gorg 3
Bing 1
Draw 1

I did use a variety of terms as well. Yes, I was aware of which side was which. After switching to Bing about a year ago, I do find myself going back to the Gorg now and then for two reasons.

1 - Better "discussion" results when looking for in depth information on a question.

2- Only if I'm interested in buying something. But 95% of the time I don't buy on the web.

3- Images. I hate the open new widow on Bing