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It seems that the moment Microsoft announced the launch of their new search engine Bing, it was inevitable that it would be compared to its greatest rival, Google. The latter has so dominated the scene in the last few years that its name has been synonymous with searching, and has even earned a spot in the Oxford English dictionary.

However, one of world’s largest companies, however, backs Bing, so it’s no lightweight. While some analysts seem to think Bing is out to be a “Google Killer,” it’s interesting to note that Microsoft doesn’t see it this way (at least, that’s not their story to the press.) Bing promises to “provide customers with a first step in moving beyond search to help make faster, more informed decisions.”

With advertisers seeking new ways to reach out to their audience, Microsoft knows it’s all about getting their slice of the PPC (pay-per-click) pie. So, should you shift part of your PPC budget to Bing? Let’s get these two contenders in the ring and watch them go head to head:

Round 1: Market Share

It’s certainly no secret that Google has more than 60 percent of North American internet users out there. Google AdWords popularized the PPC system (even though Yahoo had been using it at least 4 years before them) and still remains the most popular PPC tool. Bing, however, seems to be growing – in the past 6 months since its launch, it has gained over 6% of the market and Google has lost about the same amount.

In an interview with CrunchBase, Bing Director Stefan Weitz explains that Bing was developed to make people want to move towards their search engine, by first studying the reasons why people would want to switch. He also admits that they’re hoping “OEM deals” – having PC manufacturers automatically set Bing as the homepage on installed browsers – will help them increase their audiences.

Round 2: Quality

A study conducted by User Centric, a research firm that specializes in eye-tracking analysis, came up with interesting initial results: users spent more time (about 17% more) looking at Bing’s sponsored links than Google’s. They also spent about 26% more time browsing through the “related searches” portion on Bing. These results show that people spent more time looking around the Bing results. If you’re concerned about bounce rates, surprisingly, Bing performs about 4% better than Google.

Round 3: Price

Because of its relative newness, Bing Advertising clicks still cost less than Google (where some people have reported seeing up to $50 per click), but its audience still remains small and unique. If you’re conscious about costs and are targeting specific users, you may want to try out Bing.

The Results

Perhaps it’s too early at this point, seeing that Bing is barely a year old, to determine a clear winner. What’s evident, however, is that a shift in is inevitable in the way consumers use search engines. If you’d like to know more about implementing a PPC campaign or information about AdWords or Bing, October 17 Media can answer your questions – just drop us a line!