- Unlike previous times, MS this time actually had a good product and did not make the usual implementation faux pas, which we are so used to from the Redmond giant. Bing was launched carefully throughout the world and it wasn’t an half baked product. It replaced Live.com which was MS’s current search product so all the browser extensions and bookmarks were automatically updated. The UI was nice and the whole engine site pretty snappy.
- Bing was covered by nearly the entire online media and as if that was no enough, MS has launched a rumored $80mn campaign which includes TV and online marketing. Cuil didn’t have the financial muscle in spite of its huge venture funding. For a search engine to compete against Google, a sustained campaign is absolutely critical to capture the mindshare from the masses. For eg. the chart here shows Cuil’s big start at the time when all the buzz about was there, but as you can see for yourself it sharply fell down due to lack of interest and backing.
- Bing has a number of unique features of the board which give it a unique selling proposition against Google. The travel search is excellent and combines features from Kayak and other leading travel sites. It integrates with Farecast, which MS acquired last year. I can already see myself going to Bing for all my future search as a first choice since it integrates all existing travel sites. The Video preview feature is a nice touch and even image search with the infinite scroll makes it easy to look images without having keep hitting back button each time.
3 Reasons why Bing won’t become another Cuil
So Microsoft has launched Bing after months of secrecy and hype. Is it just another over hyped Cuil? In case you forgot, Cuil was supposed to be the big Google killer created by ex-googlers themselves. My belief is that Microsoft has played a good hand and Bing is here to stay. Here are my reasons:
