I know it seems like I favor Google over Bing since I mention Google updates so much more on here; and to say the truth it’s possible that Bing get’s slightly overlooked with all the new things that Google frequently comes up with. With the start of this post, I hope to change that. There have been a few very interesting new changes implemented by Bing that deserve to be mentioned, such as the redesign of two of their major sections – News and Video.
We’ll start with the implementation of deep links right into the main search box. Aaron Wall spotted this originally and posted a picture on Twitter.
The Bing feature that is a drop down sitemap on brand queries right from the homepage search box (no SERP page) pic.twitter.com/z5BgK4Yz0R
I went ahead and ran a test myself and was able to recreate the deep links for yet another brand keyword, Nike. The great part of this addition is that it minimizes the need for yet another page to load before the user see’s your websites listing and has the ability to click on it. I’m fairly curious how this will play out in the future.
Moving past this, Bing has also recently announced a complete re-design of the Bing News section. The new design is flat and boxy, much like the rest of Microsoft right now – and offers three interesting new features:
- Trending Topics: Bing News now surfaces the latest buzz from Facebook, Twitter and Bing. Cut through the clutter from across the Web with Bing’s real-time view of the most relevant breaking trends and social conversations, available all in one place.
- Trending Now: Earlier this year, Bing announced an expansion to their Satoritechnology that enables Bing to provide you with answers at-a-glance for people, places and things.
- Adaptive Design: Because everyone should showcase news in a format that is comfortable for anyone, regardless if they are on a tablet, phone or PC. The new Bing News automatically adapts to fit any browser width.
Lastly Bing has also announced a redesign of the Bing Video section. The new Bing Video design shows video results in a four-column grid now where each cell contains a larger preview of the image, in a higher resolution along with the title, the name of the site on which the video is hosted, and its upload date.
Search results are pulled from all over the web. Aside from customary content from YouTube and Vimeo, Bing also serves up results from Hulu, Dailymotion, Vevo, MTV, CBS, and MSN.
New Bing Video features include:
- Video Search Filters: Similar to image search filters, Bing Video now lets you search videos by specific properties including length, date posted, resolution and video source.
- Pop-out hover previews: You’ve always been able to preview videos on Bing. Now you can control the volume and even flag videos.
- Improved Video Overlay: Once you’ve seen the preview and click to view, the video will load in a lightbox atop the search results. Bing has included their carousel navigation to easily view other videos from your search result.
