Google vs Microsoft Bing: A Detailed Comparison Of Two Search Engines via @sejournal, @wburton27

Between Google and Bing, which hunt motor should you absorption on? Should you absorption connected some oregon prioritize 1 implicit the other?

Google is inactive the world’s astir popular hunt motor and ascendant APP store player, but things are changing rapidly successful an AI-driven world.

With the emergence of artificial quality and some Bing and Google incorporating AI – i.e., Microsoft Copilot powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, Bing Chat, and Google Gemini – into their algorithms and successful the hunt motor results pages (SERPs), things are changing fast.

Let’s explore.

Google Vs. Microsoft Bing Market Share

One of the archetypal distinctions betwixt Microsoft Bing and Google is marketplace share. According to Statcounter, successful the US:

• Google fell to 86.58%, down from 86.94% successful March and 88.88% YoY.
• Microsoft Bing grew to 8.24%, up from 8.04% successful March and up from 6.43% YoY.
• Yahoo grew to 2.59%, up from 2.48% successful March and up from 2.33% YoY.

That’s beauteous immense to spot Bing increasing and Google reducing.

Globally

Google had a 91.05% hunt marketplace stock successful June 2024, according to Statcounter’s revised data, which is down from 91.38% successful March and 92.82% YoY. Google’s highest hunt marketplace stock during the past 12 months, globally, was 93.11% past May.

While that whitethorn marque it tempting to absorption connected Google alone, Microsoft Bing provides bully conversions and has a idiosyncratic basal that shouldn’t beryllium ignored. Bing’s usage has grown due to the fact that of the AI-powered diagnostic Bing Chat, which has attracted caller users.

Bing is besides utilized by integer assistants specified arsenic Alexa and Cortana.

Bing has around 100 million daily progressive users which is simply a fig that you can’t ignore. It’s peculiarly important to optimize for Bing if you’re targeting an American audience. In fact, 28.3% of online queries successful the U.S. are powered by Microsoft properties erstwhile you origin successful Yahoo and dependable searches.

Some person wondered implicit the years whether Bing is an acronym for “Because It’s Not Google.” I’m not definite however existent that is, but the sanction does travel from a run successful the aboriginal 1990s for its predecessor, Live Search.

Another amusive tidbit is that Ahrefs precocious did a survey connected the Top 100 Bing searches globally, and the #1 query searched was [Google].

Comparing Google Vs. Microsoft Bing’s Functionality

From a hunt functionality perspective, the 2 hunt engines are similar, but Google offers much halfway features:

Comparing AI Functionality

How Google & Microsoft Bing Differ In Size Of Index And Crawling

Google says:

“The Google Search scale contains hundreds of billions of webpages and is good implicit 100,000,000 gigabytes successful size.”

Even so, not adjacent Google tin crawl the full web. That is conscionable not going to happen.

This is wherefore utilizing structured information is truthful important, particularly present with AI overviews. It provides a information provender astir your contented truthful Google tin recognize it better, which tin assistance you suffice for affluent results and get much clicks and impressions.

Microsoft Bing hasn’t released akin figures. However, this hunt motor scale size estimation website puts the Microsoft Bing scale astatine determination betwixt 8 to 14 billion web pages.

The 2 engines person shared a small astir their approaches to web indexing.

Microsoft Bing says:

“Bingbot uses an algorithm to find which sites to crawl, however often, and however galore pages to fetch from each site. The extremity is to minimize bingbot crawl footprint connected your web sites portion ensuring that the freshest contented is available.”

Around the aforesaid clip the supra connection was made, John Mueller from Google said:

“I deliberation the hard portion present is that we don’t crawl URLs with the aforesaid frequence each the time. So, immoderate URLs we volition crawl daily. Some URLs possibly weekly.

Other URLs each mates of months, possibly adjacent each erstwhile fractional twelvemonth oregon so. So, this is thing that we effort to find the close equilibrium for truthful that we don’t overload your server.”

Google has a mobile-first index, portion Microsoft Bing takes a antithetic stance and does not person plans to use a mobile-first indexing policy.

Instead, Microsoft Bing maintains a azygous scale that is optimized for some desktop and mobile, truthful it is important to marque definite your tract acquisition is optimized, loads quickly, and gives users what they need.

Google has evolved into much than conscionable a hunt motor with products similar Gmail, Maps, Chrome OS, Android OS, YouTube, and more.

Microsoft Bing besides offers email via Outlook, arsenic good arsenic different services similar Office Online oregon OneDrive.

Unlike Google, however, it does not person its ain operating system. Instead, it uses Windows Phone 8 oregon iOS connected Apple devices.

Now, let’s instrumentality a look astatine wherever Bing is connected par with Google – oregon superior.

Differences In User Interface & Tools

Google has a clean, elemental interface that galore radical find casual to use, but for immoderate queries, AI overviews are shown.

Screenshot from hunt for [bitcoin], Google, July 2024

So does Microsoft Bing, though Bing is simply a small spot much visual.

Screenshot from hunt for [bitcoin], Microsoft Bing, July 2024

Both hunt engines show utile accusation astir related searches, images, companies, and quality and bash a large occupation of informing users of everything they request to cognize astir a fixed topic.

SEO professionals emotion our tools and data.

Thankfully, some Google and Microsoft Bing person decent keyword probe tools that connection insights into performance:

Screenshot from author, July 2024

One country wherever I deliberation Google falls down is the information it provides successful Google Search Console. If you privation to larn however to usage it, cheque retired How to Use Google Search Console for SEO: A Complete Guide.

One of the chill diagnostic sets successful Microsoft Bing is the quality to import information from Google Search Console:

Another Microsoft Bing diagnostic that I deliberation beats Google is the information that it provides SEO Reports.

Screenshot from Bing Webmaster Tools, July 2024

According to Bing, these reports incorporate communal page-level recommendations based connected SEO champion practices to amended your rankings.

The reports are automatically generated biweekly and supply tips arsenic to what to enactment connected oregon investigate.

See A Complete Guide to Bing Webmaster Tools to larn more.

Microsoft Bing May Excel In Image Search Over Google

When it comes to image search, Microsoft Bing whitethorn person a limb up connected Google by providing higher-quality images.

Screenshot from hunt for [donuts], Microsoft Bing, July 2024

I similar the filtering features successful its representation search, too, due to the fact that you tin crook titles disconnected and hunt by representation size, color, oregon type.

Test retired Bing Visual Image Search, which allows you to bash much with images. Check retired its room of specialized skills to assistance you shop, place landmarks and animals, oregon conscionable person fun.

Then, spot How Bing’s Image & Video Algorithm Works to larn more.

Screenshot from hunt for [donuts], Google, July 2024

Google has much images disposable for viewing than Microsoft Bing. Make the astir of it with the tips successful A Guide to Google’s Advanced Image Search.

However, Microsoft Bing provides much elaborate accusation astir the representation users are searching for.

How Microsoft Bing & Google Handle Video Search

Microsoft Bing provides a overmuch more ocular video search results page, including a grid presumption of ample thumbnails.

Google’s video results are much standard, featuring a vertical database of tiny thumbnails.

As you tin spot from the screenshot of a Bitcoin hunt below, they see antithetic filters similar length, price, etc., which is simply a large idiosyncratic experience.

I did not get this acquisition with Google video search.

This is 1 country wherever Microsoft Bing outperforms Google.

Screenshot from hunt for [bitcoin], Microsoft Bing, July 2024

Screenshot from hunt for [bitcoin], Google, July 2024

Map Listings On Both Search Engines Matter For Local SEO

Both engines person akin functionality for maps, including representation listings and section listings successful the hunt motor results pages (SERPs).

Make definite you assertion each your listings successful some Microsoft Bing and Google and optimize your illustration with concern information, photos, due categories, societal information, etc.

Accurate name, address, and telephone fig (NAP) accusation are key. Google focuses connected a user’s contiguous vicinity by default, providing highly localized hunt results, portion Bing offers a broader presumption of the wider country successful section searches, which tin beryllium beneficial for immoderate businesses.

See A Complete Guide to Google Maps Marketing.

Optimizing For Google Search Vs. Microsoft Bing

Google is chiefly acrophobic with E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust. Providing users with high-quality, useful, and adjuvant contented that is factual, original, and offers users value, arsenic good arsenic a tract that provides bully idiosyncratic experience, volition assistance you rank.

Backlinks are besides inactive important.

Microsoft Bing has ever been focused connected on-page optimization. It emphasizes exact-match keywords successful domain names and URLs, gives value to societal signals and authoritative concern listings, and favors older and established domains.

Unlike Google, Microsoft Bing states successful its webmaster guidelines that it incorporates societal signals into its algorithm. That means you should besides absorption connected Twitter and Facebook – including gathering bully prime contented connected your tract and societal platforms – if you privation to fertile highly successful Microsoft Bing.

Content is highly important for some hunt engines. Always absorption connected high-quality contented that satisfies the user’s intent and informational needs. By creating utile and applicable content, users volition people emotion it and nexus to it.

Both speed, mobile-friendliness, and due tech infrastructure substance for some engines.

Make definite you cheque retired these resources for optimizing for assorted hunt engines:

• Going Beyond Google: SEO connected Other Search Engines
• 7 Alternative Search Engines That Do Social Good
• Embracing Bing Search & Giving It the Attention It Deserves
• DuckDuckGo SEO: What You Should Know

Google Is Pushing Organic Results Further And Further Down The Page

As clip goes on, Google continues to propulsion integrated results down the page, resulting successful much gross from paid hunt ads and less clicks from integrated search. That is wherefore a blended strategy is important to triumph successful today’s SERPs.

Here is simply a examination betwixt a hunt successful Google and a hunt successful Bing. As you tin see, Bing does not person arsenic galore ads arsenic Google, and integrated listings are much salient connected the leafage than Google.

Screenshot from hunt for [project absorption software], Microsoft Bing, July 2024

Screenshot from hunt for [project absorption software], Google, July 2024

Google Search Vs. Microsoft Bing: The Verdict

Both Microsoft Bing and Google fulfill the informational needs of millions of radical each day.

While Google remains the ascendant subordinate successful the conflict betwixt Bing and Google, they some connection opportunities for your marque to scope caller users and enactment you successful beforehand of millions of qualified customers who are looking for information, products, and services.

Bing offers unsocial advantages and opportunities, peculiarly successful ocular search, societal signals, and definite niche markets.

Bing holds a smaller marketplace stock but has a increasing idiosyncratic base.

Since optimizing for some Bing and Google is similar, with immoderate cardinal differences, I urge optimizing for both. This tin heighten wide visibility and reach, particularly successful a satellite wherever Google is pushing integrated listings further and further down the page.

More resources: 

• 23 Great Search Engines You Can Use Instead Of Google
• Meet The 7 Most Popular Search Engines In The World
• How Search Engines Work

Featured Image: Overearth/Shutterstock