Trailing far behind its Google competitor, Bing has recently announced its new innovative ideas to gain a competitive advantage over the Google power house. Controlling more than 50 percent of the market, Google is continuing to possess online dominance by offering countless visual designs to appeal to browsers world-wide and providing high-speed search results. However, Google’s leading competitor has recently publicly displayed its visual enhancements and announced other key tactics necessary for the improvement of the Bing Search engine. According to CNN news, the company plan to redesign its browser-based image search and maps to create an optimal visual experience, reducing the latter's reliance on the Silverlight plug-in and instead doing more with the power of modern browsers and HTML5. In addition, the company is extending its operations to mobile devices, such as the iPhone, in order to gain the interest of younger browsers.
The strategic and innovative enhancements made by Bing will provide the company with the ultimate opportunity to gain a competitive advantage over Google. By creating the ideal visual experience will appeal the younger users of the internet especially those fond of virtual sites. The redesign of the homepage of Bing will appeal to user’s visual senses as it provides more clarity and graphics. The site will overpower the simplicity found on the Google Homepage. Yet, will the new additions to the website create more complications for its users?
Although, the Bing search engine will extremely more interesting and aesthetic it may result in slow processing. The complexity of the Bing website will take up more space on its user’s devices especially mobile devices. Yet still, the company is going forward with its design. However, I do not find the purpose of adding graphics to a search engine when users, like me, will overlook the visual presentation. I find it odd that the Bing Company will exert so much effort in the appearance and layout of the site instead of providing beneficial search results. Many users of search engines are primarily concerned with information accessibility and the quality the site provides.
On the other hand, Bing’s decision to extend its service on mobile devices in the form of an app will give the company a great competitive advantage. Many users will download the app for convenience. While on the go, many individuals will use their mobile app to answer any lingering questions on the Bing search engine. Hence, many individuals reading may argue that Bing is not offering a new innovative idea because there is a Google app already in existence. Yet, the two will differ. The CNN news article stated the Bing app on mobile devices “brings some of the design feel of Windows Phone 7 along with some nifty maps, real time bus directions, and an easy way to make beautiful panoramas. You can also easily make reservations via Open Table and take a virtual tour of a restaurant's interior when a restaurant shows up in map search results.” Having the capability to do all those things, stated in the previous sentence, from the palm of one’s hand will surely lure user from Google to Bing. Nevertheless, the question still remains, how much time will lapse before browsers make the big switch?
Singel, Ryan. "Bing Battles Google with Prettiness - CNN." Featured Articles from CNN. 16 Dec. 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.
Boyd, E.B. "Bing Battles Google by Re-Designing Search." Fast Company. 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.
The renovation of Bing could potentially give them an advantage over their competitor Google, however there are some aspects of this that leave me skeptical about their future success. People sometimes overlook the functionality of a product, or search engine in this case, for what appears pleasing. If Bing creates an engine that is interesting and appealing to the eye, people will be drawn back to it day after day so they can see the different images. However, if the engine trades in its quick nature to be "the optimal visual experience" companies and users will once again turn back to reliable search engines like Google. At this stage in the game, Bing has to think of something monumental to make Google users switch to an alternate service. Although Bing will have a new app and visually appealing homepage, that may not give them the complete competitive advantage over Google. Google is fast, reliable and very easy to access from any smart phone. Bing is putting forth a strong effort to beat out it's competition, and an app and new design may set them on the right path to build an empire.
ReplyDeleteBing's redesign of its website format could lead them to gain a competitive advantage, however it could also hurt their market share. Using higher resolution images and better graphics on their website may be successful, but it may also make searching for simple questions too complicated for people. Google's plain and easy to use website may not be visually appealing, however the user concentrates on searching for what they need and using the website for a purpose. Bing's idea to make the website more focused on graphic design could help them, but a search engine is used primarily to find links to other websites. When choosing a search engine, I would think that users would choose speed over aesthetic appeal. As for the smartphone application, this is a great way for Bing to expand their market share. People are moving towards using iPads and smartphones for everything and if Bing sets themselves up as the primary provider of smartphone search engines, this could lead to long term growth.
ReplyDeleteMany would probably argue that Bing set itself up for failure in trying to compete with Google. Google is not only a name, but a word that is used daily in schools, businesses, and home. While I have heard many people say they are going to "...Google it", I have never heard anyone use Bing as a verb. Luckily for Bing, IT has made the possibilities for developing new features endless. They will have to be creative and innovative with new technologies if they want to succeed as a competitor. I believe it is easier to compete with giants like Google today, because in this global world companies are much more mulit-faceted. If Bing wants to succeed in this David and Goliath type battle, they will have to do more than improve the aesthetics of their search engine. Broadening service through cell phone apps is a great start. If they continue to be creative with new technologies they will hopefully come up with new ideas before Google, allowing them to gain more market share.
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