Being #1 In Google May Mean You're #1 in Bing

I read an interesting article on Search Engine Land today that may impact some of our clients' rankings in Bing. According to the article, Bing has been mining Google search results to enhance their own search results.

What the heck does that mean you ask? Think of it like cheating on a test, where you look at your neighbor's answers to fill in your test answers. The theory that Google has tested and says they have verified indicates that Microsoft is using Internet Explorer's suggested sites feature and the Bing search bar to monitor what users search for in Google, and show the same 1st search result in Bing.

I Don't Care Whether It's Right Or Wrong

The article debates whether what Microsoft is allegedly doing is illegal, right, wrong, etc... If you look at what Google has done with their image search results display, they basically copied Bing's. While I think it is both sneaky and clever at the same time, I don't particularly care. All that matters to me is that our SEO clients' websites rank as high as humanly possible in all relevant search engines. This obviously means Google and Bing.

The higher they rank, the more opportunity that exists for them to succeed online. Ultimately, that is my goal. I want all of our clients to succeed online.

Small Business Marketing Takeaway

It may seem like no big deal, but consider the search market share data (as of this writing):

• Google: 66.6%
• Bing: 12%

If you rank #1 in Google for a particular keyword or phrase, 66.6% of searchers will find you. Now, if you rank #1 in Google for the same keyword or phrase, 78.6% of searchers will find you. That's a huge increase!

Who knows if there will be a legal battle over it, but for the time being, if you struggle in Bing but are #1 in Google, enjoy your likely rise to the to of Bing while it lasts!