Microsoft is trying out a pretty unusual strategy to stop Bing users from switching to Google when they need to search for something. As spotted by Reddit users, if you type “Google” into Bing right now, you’ll be taken to a results page with a special header that happens to look similar to the Google search bar.
The page even loads with Bing’s top search bar hidden — you need to scroll up to make it appear. Since what you’re looking at is actually Bing, it doesn’t say “Google” above the centered search bar. Still, the style of the search bar and the illustration is similar to what you might often find in Google.
Basically, if you’re not thinking too hard about it, it feels like Bing skipped the results page where you would have clicked on the Google link and just took you straight to the Google homepage.
If Google is your favorite search engine and you really want to use it — this little trick isn’t going to stop you. The link to the real Google is right below the search bar and it doesn’t really affect how long it takes you to access it. But that doesn’t mean Microsoft’s strategy doesn’t work — it’s just not aimed at you.
Google is the most popular search engine, and just like people will call any old vacuum flask a Thermos, they will also call any old search engine “Google.” In fact, the act of using a search engine in itself is just known as “googling.” This means there are plenty of people out there who type the word “Google” when they want to search for something, but they’re not really thinking about the company or its specific product. As long as a search bar that looks the way they expect appears, they’re happy — and that’s exactly what Bing is giving them.
It will be interesting to see if this strategy will reduce Bing’s bounce rates, and whether Google will mind. The company probably can’t stop Bing from using the — arguably very similar — user interface, but it’s certainly an unusual approach to the long-standing rivalry between Microsoft and Google. I’m curious whether this Google-esque search result will stay on Bing for the long term.
