IndustryBing It On! Bing Goes Toe-to-Toe Against Google

Bing It On! Bing Goes Toe-to-Toe Against Google

A recent study conducted by Microsoft showed people prefer Bing search results nearly 2-to-1 over Google's results. According to the survey, even those who thought they preferred Google, chose Bing. Now Microsoft plan to change people's perception.

A recent study conducted by Microsoft showed people prefer Bing search results nearly 2-to-1 over Google’s results. According to the survey, even those who thought they preferred Google, chose Bing. Based on these results, Microsoft is on a quest to tell the world and change perception.

bingiton-seofilmsIn their latest campaign, Microsoft is launching a blind “taste test” of sorts pitting Bing against Google in a modern take on the classic Pepsi Challenge.

Bing It On is a side-by-side search engine comparison. You pick a term to search on – or enter your own. After, two sets of results are delivered. You then select a winner, the left side or the right. You may also declare the results a “draw.” At the end of the five “rounds”, you see which search engine you chose for each of the five queries.

A video posted to the Bing It On site depicts random people on the street identifying Google as their preferred search engine, then choosing Bing’s search results as better and more relevant.

The search engine survey was conducted by San Diego-based Answers Research using a sampling of nearly 1,000 people, ages 18 and older from across the United States who used a major search engine in the past 30 days. The respondents were not told any company was involved.

In the survey, each respondent was asked for 10 search queries of their own choosing and displayed side-by-side results with all branding, snapshot, social and Knowledge Graph info removed.

Out of the 1,000 participants, 57.4 percent chose Bing, 30.2 percent chose Google and 12.4 percent saw no preference in the results. The survey had a margin of error of only 2 percent.

Speaking to Search Engine Watch, Bing Director Stephan Weitz referenced the survey results and suggests this campaign is to get the conversation started.

“Google is such a habit, people don’t think of the choice of engine they’re making,” he said. “People have told us they prefer Bing’s results at a 2 to 1 margin. We encourage everyone to take the test for themselves to see if they agree.”

But Can You win an Xbox?

In the Bing It On video, people are challenged to wager various silly antics that Bing is better than Google. If the people on the street chose Google, they’d win an Xbox.

While you probably won’t find random Microsoft employees offering this in your neighborhood, today Microsoft is launching the Bing It On sweepstakes. The sweepstakes offers many prizes, including a Microsoft Surface tablet, Xbox 360 with Kinect, Windows Phones and more, just by tweeting. There will also be in-store activations in various Microsoft stores, right up through the upcoming Windows 8 launch.

Microsoft now has a statistically significant survey showing people prefer Bing results to Google. Armed with that information, expect a major ad campaign online and off. Look for some really creative concepts on screen at the upcoming VMA Awards. Bing has already started a tweet campaign.

bing-it-on

“The whole idea is to have a little fun,” says Weitz. “We want to get people to break the habit and give us a try.”

Are you ready to Bing it on? Take the challenge, tweet your results with the hashtag #sew and #bingiton and let us know in the comments below. We will compile the results.

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