Bing Makes Search Ever More Social

Microsoft is deepening its Facebook integration with Bing by powering results with more social factors that will help “fuel faster decisions.” This announcement follows close behind Google’s +1 unveiling last month, which presents the engine’s answer to socializing the search experience.

Bing’s latest update will provide more results that include “endorsements” from a searcher’s Facebook friends (via Like data), a new Facebook tab within the Bing toolbar (for easier Liking, commenting and sharing) and results that tap into Facebook’s entire social fabric – beyond a searcher’s own circle of friends. Bing’s integration of search technology with Facebook’s social data directly impacts natural search rankings, as these socialized results will achieve greater premium visibility in search.

Bing’s “Collective IQ”: One component of this update that differentiates Bing’s social integration from that of rival Google is the inclusion of Facebook’s social data without requiring searchers to log in and sync their Facebook account prior to searching. Certain search results Liked by the greater Facebook user base will be pushed to the top of results. We expect such “socially popular” results to offer much greater click-through appeal given this additional qualifier of relevance.

Without the searcher signing in to Facebook, a search for “Atlanta news” (below) yields not only top listings, but also two recent articles and the amount of Likes each has received in the Facebook Open Graph.

Friends weigh in on search results: When searching Bing while logged in to your Facebook account, search results now integrate up to three friends that have liked any given result.

Another added “friends connected listings” feature includes searches made on geographic location. Now you will be able to see friends located in the area queried. Visiting New York?  Click on the links to your friends’ profiles and ask David what restaurants are his favorite, or ask Mike where he’ll be while you’re in town.

A starring role within the Bing Toolbar: Bing has included a new feature within its toolbar that allows users to apply Facebook actions such as Likes, shares and comments to website pages, independent of them having these features enabled on site. The new functionality passes the social currency of websites into the larger Facebook community, where others can Like your Like.

How this affects the search landscape: Bing is clearly maximizing its partnership with Facebook, personalizing the traditional search experience with the Likes of your social connections, and boosting relevance by tapping into the larger “wisdom” of the Facebook crowd. For marketers this marks a great leap forward in the evolution of search. The Bing-Facebook combination brings consumers a true end-to-end application of social to search through which they can [1] Review, share and Like products and services directly related to friends, and vice-versa; [2] Reach out and connect with a purpose to those friends affiliated to a geo-based search; and [3] Receive search results with listings prioritized by those within their trusted circle (as determined by Facebook).

This innovation underlines the growing importance of social media as it relates to the search experience, and further establishes a ubiquitous social layer at the centerpiece of our digital experiences – wherever they occur. We expect that this momentum will yield substantive benefits to brands that are active in social spaces, and large dividends to verticals for which word of mouth plays a large role in consideration, such as retail, media & entertainment and travel.

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Is this Bing’s silver bullet to taking on Google’s share of search? Through its close ties into Facebook’s critical audience, Bing is well positioned to accomplish what Google’s +1 and Circles are attempting to do — to deepen the search experience by infusing social relevancy from a person’s network of connections, thus creating a greater feeling of “trust” and more tailored results.

Further Reading: 360i’s POV on Google +1 and 360i’s POV on How the Social Landscape Will Change Search

- Dino Metaxopoulos is Senior SEO Manager at 360i.