London — The software giant Microsoft aiming to go head to head with Google, has officially took the wraps of the UK version of its Bing search engine, when it announced to deliver fully localized services and search results to UK users, taking the UK site out of the Beta testing stage it has been in since launch in June.
The website, which is designed to contend with Google’s dominance of the online search market, was introduced in the United States in May. Until now, UK web users have only been able to access a US version of Bing, but with this launch, the UK will become the third country after the United States and Canada to receive a tailor-made version of Bing to deliver more relevant search results.
“This is a serious, long-term engagement from Microsoft to bring a differentiated search product in to the market place,” said Ashley Highfield, managing director of Microsoft’s consumer and online divisions in the UK. “We have not just used the US version of Bing. We have had a UK team focusing on what will work particularly well over here”.
Microsoft has rolled out a UK version of Bing, its search engine, with localized results and services.
Bing UK will deliver all of the similar capabilities as the US version of the site, including real-time updates from Twitter, and a linkup with the computational search engine Wolfram Alpha, which specializes in handing mathematical and numerical data.
“Bing is all set for the UK consumer, with our modernized way of searching the Internet proving very popular,” said Highfield.
“Features such as Categorized Search, Twitter and Visual Search are providing a different and intuitive experience, and are enabling us all to make informed decisions and discover more of the web — faster.”
“We have had a devoted team of 50 people working hard since June to make our results work better for people in the UK,” Ashley added. “In particular, we want to excel in e-commerce because British people outweigh the US in terms of online shopping, and we wanted to make sure it could help you find a TV or camera in time for Christmas.”
Microsoft currently commands a 3% share of the UK search market, as compared to Google’s 80% share, and Microsoft’s share of the global search space has increased by 1.5% since Bing’s launch.
Key features of Bing UK include:
- A localized UK homepage, with unique imagery and “hotspots” – click through information boxes provide users with a wealth of information. A tool for discovery and inspiration.
- Visual Search, helps users search (maybe for a new purchase) using visual images and meta data without having to type in keywords.
- See who or what is being chatted about with global live Twitter feed searching, pulling up Tweets in Bing searches in real-time.
- Looking for the best deals? – an integrated shopping experience with Ciao UK searches the Internet to find the best prices, reviews and local availability. Bing supports making the best shopping decisions based on community feedback – not just advertising.
Highfield said that tools, such as Hover mode, which allows people to preview a web page before they click on it, and Visual Search, which enables people to narrow results by flicking through images, would prove popular with users.
“About two-thirds of web users now use the internet to make decisions, and half of those searches now last for at least half an hour. With traditional search, there is a lot of endless clicking in to a website, realizing it is not what you want, and clicking back out again.
“Bing aggregates information for you so that by the time you click in to a website, you are pretty convinced that is the information you want.”
Alex Hoye, chief executive of Latitude Group, a digital marketing agency that specializes in search and analytics, said Bing was a compelling offer for UK web users.
“Bing has put the user experience to the fore, and it is positive for search engine users to have a competitive field, as it will keep companies innovating,” he said.
“We will continue to innovate and introduce new features on an ongoing basis by listening and responding to what UK search users find relevant,” said Highfield.
“Removing our beta tag is merely the first step to signal Bing is here and already has features that are superior to those provided by other search engines.”
For the UK market, Microsoft has also struck a deal with price comparison site Ciao UK.
Microsoft is rumored to have spent over $100m marketing Bing.