What needs to be considered, however, is how Bing has delivered a great new product to couple with its aggressive promotion. To become the fastest growing US search engine, Bing has delivered some awesome features. Jennifer Van Grove outlined 5 great Bing features on Mashable, but I feel a few could be added to form Bing’s highlight reel so far.

• Daily Homepage Pictures – very simple and nothing to do with search, but a nice touch to differentiate itself and attract mainstream users.

• 3 Column SERPs – this layout of search results allows for easy filtering options on the left, results in the middle, and a heightened viewing of sponsored links on the right. Good for both users and advertisers.

• Travel Insight – includes flight price forecasts and highlights air fare deals, allowing for the cheapest bookings. With everyone booking their own flights online, a very smart move.

• Bing Cashback – has been extremely popular and successful. It offers money back to online consumers who purchase products after searching through Bing. Microsoft did a double cash back promo in August that was so successful they had to end it early.

• Enhanced Search – the enhanced view option and link preview window provide two great search functions that allow the user to remain on the search engine and still get the information they may need, or at least decide whether a link is relevant. Part of Bing’s effort to reduce the use of the back button and improve user satisfaction rates, which it has done (especially in Canada).

• Video Search – allows users to watch or preview a video just by hovering the mouse over a result. Combined with great filters on the navigational column, this keeps users on the site and makes it easier for them to find the right result.

• Visual Search – although still new and limited, this alternative search interface provides pre fabricated categories of images, allowing the user to browse results without any text. Provides a glimpse into what could be a totally new way of searching and is great for shopping.

• BingTweets – puts the trends and public sentiments of twitter within a relevant context as Bing and Twitter results are displayed side by side. This provides a real time and relevant search mix in a user friendly interface.

Clearly, there has been no lack of innovation on the part of Microsoft and Bing has definitely, in time, grown into its label as the ‘decision engine’. Steve Ballmer has promised at least two Bing updates per year and with Bing 2.0 expected any day, it is safe to say that Bing will retain its strong growth. The next update is expected to incorporate Microsoft’s’ Silverlight technology into the maps feature and other local search results. This use of interactive rich media could mount an attack on dominant Google Maps, a battle that could provide the next chunk of market share for Bing. With Yahoo set to bolster its market position through a $100 million ad campaign; I think it’s time for Google to start worrying.

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Microsoft has pushed this angle in many ways. In Europe, Ciao.com was purchased to operate as Bing’s shopping facet. As an established and popular price comparison site, Ciao has brought many online shoppers to use Bing. Furthermore, Microsoft put out a huge promotion in the US in August, in which Bing Cashback would double the money given back to a buyer from the brand. For example, if Cannon returned $10 from the purchase of a camera, Bing would make it $20. This went over extremely well, so well in fact that Microsoft had to end the promotion a full four days early, as they reached their cap on the amount of money saved. A TV ad for Bing Cashback was also aired in the US, adding to an already potent TV advertising campaign.

It would appear that Microsoft has decided to go after the purchase based share of searches in order to gain some ground on Google. In my opinion a smart move, as long as the other more research or news related searches are heavily considered as well. The world is searching more and more, with 113 billion searches in July, an increase of 41 percent year on year. In a clearly determined and persistent move to receive more of these searches, Microsoft is trading search revenue for market share by using Cashback as a traffic driver for Bing. Senior Director of Microsoft’s Online Audience Business, Frederick Savoye, recently said that in this release, Microsoft focused on helping users get the best results for searches that involved spending money. A clever angle to take in order to scoop up what Google has left out, to harness current trends in online spend, and to provide an appealing platform for online advertisers.

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