Bing’s announcement on August 13
that it is planning a more conversational relationship between user and
search engine brings up an interesting question: Is this kind of
intuitive connection going to be the wave of the future when it comes to
similar platforms?
Google, the most popular search engine by far, has employed much of
the same technology. Yet it seems as if Bing wants to befriend its user
base, not simply deliver answers to queries.
It’s a fascinating look inside the potential evolution of the search
engine as part-Siri, part confidante, part know-it-all Professor from
Gilligan’s Island. Bing no doubt did copious amounts of research to
determine that this kind of affiliation with its users was needed, or at
least wanted, before launching the new initiative. The real question is
whether it will catch on and attract people who want a more robust,
instinctual link between their search engine and them.
About Bing’s Conversational Development
First, let’s take a look at how Bing’s changes are playing out in
real world applications to understand the relevance of this tool.
As Bing explains on its August 13 blog post, its algorithms will now
respond to questions as a friend would. This is a fancy way of saying
that if your first inquiry is: “What are the advantages of getting a
golden retriever?”, and your second inquiry is: “Are they good with
kids?”, Bing will understand that you’re still talking about golden
retrievers when you use the pronoun “they”. As you drill down with
subsequent questions, Bing will pull from your original queries to give
you pertinent responses.
A practice run shows that real-world inquiries do work – sort of. For
instance, using the golden retriever example, Google had no clue what
“Are they good with kids?” meant, even after the first question had been
asked. In essence, Google’s algorithms made zero connection between the
two queries. Bing, on the other hand, did deliver dog-related answers
to the second question, albeit not ones specifically about golden
retrievers in the first 10 results. This shows there are tweaks to be
made, but that Bing is more intuitive than Google in this manner.
To be fair, Bing doesn’t promise zero-glitch results. Their blog post
includes a disclaimer that basically indicates the conversational
search engine results experience will be a work in progress. Still,
they’re setting the bar higher and, obviously, trying to position
themselves against rival search engines.
What Bing’s Capabilities Mean for Marketers and Webmasters
As with all announcements of this type, the big questions is WIIFM:
What’s In It For Me? In terms of marketers and webmasters who are
focused on search engine optimization and returns on investment, the
possibilities are interesting.
Initially, it will be important to evaluate how a website or series
of web pages currently optimized for specific keywords works with Bing’s
new algorithms. Perhaps there is no need to make any changes to boost
search engine results for a particular key phrase. On the other hand,
there could be modifications that would make a web page a stronger
contender for first-page results.
The proof will indeed be in the pudding in the sense of determining
how and whether this affects marketers’ and webmasters’ clientele. For
instance, will search results be boosted if webpage content begins to
develop in an intuitive sense? As an example, subheadings could follow a
pattern identical to a “conversational” search in Bing. The first
subheading would indicate the subject, while following subheadings could
use common pronouns indicating the subject used in the first
subheading. This could alter the way that a webpage is written, as well
as the way SEO is approached.
Another point for marketers and webmasters to ruminate over is how
often Bing is being used versus Google. Bing is certainly nowhere near
Google’s level of domination in the search engine world; however, there
is always room for game changing to take place. No doubt Bing wants this
latest development to be a game changer. Of course, by examining a
website’s analytics, anyone can instantly tell if Bing searches are
increasing.
Bing’s Conversation May Start a Conversation
If nothing else, Bing’s announcement is starting a huge conversation
over what people seeking information on the internet will expect from
their search engines in the coming months and years. Bing’s
powers-that-be seem to feel that the road ahead is paved with
friendship-like connections between askers and responders. Given the
progression of search engine technologies thus far, they may not be far
off in their hypotheses.
While it isn’t necessary to start revamping your marketing program
just yet, it’s probably time to begin evaluating your data and keeping a
watchful eye on all the analytics available. Drilling down to discover
how people are coming to your – or your customer’s – site may take on a
whole new meaning, especially if common queries begin to include
sentences like “Is she taller than five feet?” and “How do I turn it
off?” If this is the case, you may need to revamp the way you are
showing yourself to the world in order to attract the right prospective
buyers, readers or influencers.
What’s next on the agenda for search engines? Will Google respond
with a Bing-like project? It’s anybody’s guess. With that being said,
staying in touch with these improvements in search engine technology
will only make you stronger at your game.
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