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View Full Version : Microsoft’s Bing uses Google search results—and denies it


Dan01
02-09-2011, 03:56 PM
This was a shocker. Has anything come of this?

By now, you may have read Danny Sullivan’s recent post: “Google: Bing is Cheating, Copying Our Search Results” and heard Microsoft’s response, “We do not copy Google's results.” However you define copying, the bottom line is, these Bing results came directly from Google.

I’d like to give you some background and details of our experiments that lead us to understand just how Bing is using Google web search results.

It all started with tarsorrhaphy. Really. As it happens, tarsorrhaphy is a rare surgical procedure on eyelids. And in the summer of 2010, we were looking at the search results for an unusual misspelled query [torsorophy]. Google returned the correct spelling—tarsorrhaphy—along with results for the corrected query. At that time, Bing had no results for the misspelling. Later in the summer, Bing started returning our first result to their users without offering the spell correction (see screenshots below). This was very strange. How could they return our first result to their users without the correct spelling? Had they known the correct spelling, they could have returned several more relevant results for the corrected query.

From the Official Google Blog:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/microsofts-bing-uses-google-search.html

AussieWebmaster
02-09-2011, 04:15 PM
we have been covering this too
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/110201-211436
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/110204-092959

cryptblade
02-10-2011, 10:10 AM
Not sure how this really affects anything. I mean - for all intents and purposes, we optimize for Google. If BingHoo ganks Google SERPs, only helps us more. So what's the big deal?

Personally, I think Google is generating a yearly SNAFU for itself. Last it, it was China. Now, it's with BingHoo.

....GOOG shares down right now...so...go figure.

Dan01
02-10-2011, 05:42 PM
I guess people need to ask themselves: Do they want Pepsi or the real thing. Why choose Bing if they use Google (Or Google results)?

Personally, I can't believe MS would do it.

cryptblade
02-10-2011, 11:20 PM
I dont think people necessarily care. Most ppl, including some "SEOs" don't know that Bing-Yahoo are the same now.

Google also knows there's no real loyalty in search engine usage. This is probably why they raised a whole stink about it. It's part of their marketing/PR in a way.

This may backfire on them though simply because there's no real loyalty to SE usage. I know many lay people who use Yahoo Mail but search by Google. Likewise, you will have many who use Gmail but not necessarily care whether they search via Google or Bing.

Dan01
02-11-2011, 07:05 PM
This may backfire on them though simply because there's no real loyalty to SE usage.

I think that is a great point. It gives Bing some publicity too.

Dan01
02-11-2011, 07:09 PM
Google also knows there's no real loyalty in search engine usage. This is probably why they raised a whole stink about it.

I remember when ASK had all of those commercials on TV. I thought wow, Google better look out. I wonder why more people didn't switch to ASK (Or Bing for that matter).

I guess people are just used to it, but like you mentioned, many people are at Yahoo but then go to Google for search.