It seems like there is a pretty big debacle between Google and Bing. Apparently Google noticed that Bing search results were getting better and better. In some cases they were nearly mimicking Google’s search results. Sooo Google decided to leave out a “honeypot”, They took random assemblages of letters (pretty much garble) and assigned websites to them directly. In most cases these random letters came up with no search results or very ineffective results. After two weeks they tested their hypothesis and hazzah! Bing had taken the bait! Bing was now showing the same search results for these weird, non-existant search queries that Google had intentional laid out.
Now people (especially Googlers) are calling Bing a copier and a cheater. Is this foul play? I think not! Imagine yourself as a managing director of Bing. You are the underdog in a competitive search/ad driven marketplace and you have to allocate your resources effectively. Are you going to focus those resources on creating an algorithm set to determine the meaning of unrecognizable assemblages of letters…ooorrr to create an awesomeTravel algorithm , Online Games, Social, Recipe, Local and increase the usefulness/utility of Visual Search.
In actuality Bing is quite clever in this regard. As a quick competitive fix, just mimic search results that you have no answer for! How did Bing figure out about these search results. Now here is a place of some contention. Bing has a tool bar feature for people to download that actively tracks your search queries and web searches so Bing can bring you more personal and accurate search results. Taking this into consideration the whole concept of the Google “honeypot” is ultimately rigged. Google knew that using this toolbar would have Bing track the users search results and shore up any weaknesses in Bing results for that same user.
Seems like a lame attempt to knock Bing down a peg before its big announcement today. Any sane person would notice that this does not impact the value of using Bing for its more legitimate features. Its video search, Travel, and Map packages are superior in the industry and at the end of the day those advanced features is what will drive people to use Bing over Google.
Bing: Ignore the smoke screen and stay the course. Stick to differentiation and reap the rewards.
Google: You’re the leader so it will be unlikely for Bing to knock you off your throne. Keep innovating your ad, search and mobile platforms (which you have been doing, KUDOS!) and leave the cheap shots for less respectable competitors.
Now, I leave you with a quote from the beloved Steve Jobs about tech companies. “Good artists copy, great artists steal. And we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas”. The tech industry is almost akin to a Zoolander esque standoff. The first to market shows its stuff and the competitors copy and elaborate. It’s just the nature of the business.
Regards,
-The Marketing Ninja
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