Bing Waves as It Passes Yahoo Search in First Week?

By Frank Reed on June 5, 2009

Bing Waves as It Passes Yahoo Search in First Week?

While it is really early in the Bing v. All Things Search battle there are claims that Bing has surged past Yahoo Search to claim the number 2 search spot (of course, that tiny dot on the horizon is Google which isn’t even bothered by this kind of stuff). TechCrunch and others are talking about how this is, at the very least, a promising start for the folks at Microsoft as they try to be the Google Slayer.

Data from monitoring service StatCounter suggests that Bing, Microsoft’s new search decision engine, has overtaken Yahoo Search as the number two search service in the U.S. and worldwide in large part thanks to stealing market share from leader Google.

OK so let’s list the possible reasons for this happening:

All the hoopla around the Bing market introduction has created an initial interest spike
People want another search option other than Google and Bing serves that need
StatCounter is smart and is trying to get some pub
IE 6 users were forced to use Bing (and couldn’t un-Bing themselves until a fix was released by Microsoft)
Bing is just better?

Opinions will be varied on this for sure. If you are Microsoft you have to feel good that at least there was talk about a separation from the rest of search field. The real test will be in the next 30 / 60 /90 days to see if people are using it for real.

For those of you who like pictures here is the StatCounter information. So we have some idea of where this data came from TechCrunch reported that

StatCounter claims to measure the search and browsing behavior of over two million users and says it tracks in excess of ten billion pageloads per month over its network of three million websites

statcounter-bing

So is Bing the Thing?

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23 comments on “Bing Waves as It Passes Yahoo Search in First Week?”

Michael Martinez Says:

June 5th, 2009 at 2:09 pm

Microsoft surpassed Yahoo! in search visitors a long time ago. Statcounter’s metric isn’t any better than any of the others out there.
Nathan Says:

June 5th, 2009 at 2:31 pm

I just find the title ironic “Bing Waves [Google wave?] as it passes Yahoo Search in First Week”

Okay so I’m lame. I connected the two though.
Frank Reed Says:

June 5th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

@Nathan – lol. Lame is completely acceptable here especially as we approach the weekend. On most days it’s all I have anyway. Keep putting in your ‘lame’ 2 cents

Frank Reed’s last blog post..Internet Marketing and Merilee Elliott – A Match Made in Dallas
Nathan Says:

June 5th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

@Frank thanks for the support haha I’m actually in Vietnam right now and it’s about 2am which contributes even more to my lameness

Nathan’s last blog post..Wow! A new site! You must be nuts!
Marco Says:

June 5th, 2009 at 4:34 pm

This might be a big shift. The question now is how this will affect lots of paid search budgets, as in: Does Microsoft Bing Change Paid Search?.
Alan Bleiweiss Says:

June 6th, 2009 at 11:25 am

Regardless of the pathetic variances from Alexa to Compete to StatCounter and every other beyond flawed metric tracker, I really do believe that at least in the short run bing is going to grab share. So like you say Frank, it’s now a 30/60/90 day wait and see thing.

I’ll say this though – I really do believe the hover/preview feature is innovative and will help a LOT of people make better decisions before clicking through to sites (until ppl learn how to game THAT feature of course). Combine that with $100million being thrown into ads and it was enough for me to recommend to my top clients to move 25% of their Google Ad Spend into bing for the next 90 days.

Alan Bleiweiss’s last blog post..My Search Engine Journal Debut
Marketing Deviant Says:

June 6th, 2009 at 3:49 pm

If Microsoft forces all Internet Explorer to use only Bing, that will be a big game changer. Imagine how Microsoft can create a monopoly since 90%+ computer users uses Window…

Marketing Deviant’s last blog post..To Remember is To Evolve
Jhelo Cruz Says:

June 7th, 2009 at 10:54 am

I think this is really possible. I trust StatCounter with this regard. Well if this is really true, Yahoo may be worried now!

Jhelo Cruz’s last blog post..Where I Started Making Money Online and SEO
Developerholic Says:

June 7th, 2009 at 11:08 am

Microsoft is trying to dominate the world.. kidding

Anyway, I still love Google

Developerholic’s last blog post..Thara Red
jesse Says:

June 7th, 2009 at 2:29 pm

let us wait n watch the competition of search engines

jesse’s last blog post..ROSES BASED ON SIZE AND BLOOMING
Nick Green Says:

June 7th, 2009 at 3:04 pm

I have been really impressed with BING thus far…and I never liked Microsofts other search tools.

Google seems slightly vulnerable to me…it is getting tougher to weed out spammy stuff when you search these days. Not sure BING will be any better in the future, but for now I think they are…

Nick Green’s last blog post..Smart Job Hunting MindSet
Marco Says:

June 8th, 2009 at 1:41 am

Why is there so much emotion (positive and negative) when a news story focuses on Microsoft? Let’s stick with the facts and how they might or might not impact us. In what ways is Bing better or worse than Google or Yahoo? How will (or should) Bing’s introduction affect marketers? Here are my newest thoughts on Bing, Yahoo!, and Google.
Dionysia Says:

June 8th, 2009 at 4:59 am

There is always a competitor in our lives. As long as the competition is running with a good manner, it is ok. The positive thinking is that we need to learn more and more everyday.

Dionysia’s last blog post..Strategy in Sulumits Retsambew – Page Rank and Backlinks
Michael Sadish Says:

June 8th, 2009 at 9:04 am

Over the years and years no comp for Google. I mean no healthy comp. From my bottom of my heart i love Bing for their grant opening. Yahoo are planning to advertise Bing by spending about million of Dollars..

Michael Sadish’s last blog post..Windows Xp Common Problems
What you should do about Bing Says:

June 8th, 2009 at 10:29 am

[...] turn it into a verb, much as with Google. It’s received so much buzz that, at least for now, Bing has passed Yahoo as the number 2 search engine. And, Bing works pretty well, both in my informal tests and in SearchEngineLand’s more [...]
wones Says:

June 8th, 2009 at 11:10 am

DecisionSearchEngine.com
Earrings Says:

June 8th, 2009 at 1:24 pm

Too early to really tell since its just over a week, the real challenge is keeping those searchers in… In a year we should all know if Bing has really toppled Yahoo on the 2nd spot.

Earrings’s last blog post..Diamond Cut
Rika Susan's Home Improvement News Says:

June 10th, 2009 at 3:14 am

Interesting data. Look forward to seeing how Bing develops.

Rika Susan’s Home Improvement News’s last blog post..Top Benefits Of A Corian Installation: Sample Practical Discounted Countertops
Will Bakhos Says:

June 10th, 2009 at 8:01 am

I don’t see why people necessarily need a new search engine? If Google gives you the information you need then other than pure novelty why would people change.

The funny thing with Bing is.. I tried to search about “what is Bing” it didnt give me a right answer so I had to head to Google to get the right answer! Not completely impressed have to say.

Will Bakhos’s last blog post..Online Marketing – difference between good and bad.
Servizi Fotografici Says:

June 10th, 2009 at 4:22 pm

Bing might steal some market from google at this initial stage. But in the long term it will lose all, and even more if MS does not add something really innovative.
Using Bing Effectively for Ecommerce | Ecommerce Blog from MightyMerchant Says:

June 12th, 2009 at 2:16 pm

[...] initial rise to #2 was probably from the hype and introduction, so only time will tell if they can sustain any [...]
Tune Up Your PC » Post Topic » Statcounter: Bing leapfrogs Yahoo again Says:

June 27th, 2009 at 11:56 pm

[...] might remember Statcounter.com as the site that came in the news a few weeks ago when Bing overtook Yahoo, due to the sudden interest immediately after launch. [...]
Jacques Snyman | Business Cards Says:

June 28th, 2009 at 5:11 pm

The name just has a certain ring to it, so I am trying Bing out. IUt also has local (South Africa) search, so it is a viable alternative to Google. It’s just that it is from….Microsoft….AAARGH

Marketing Pilgrim