Bing, SEO and Internal Search

  One of the interesting features of Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine, is its employment of the wisdom of crowds. When searchers consistently express satisfaction with a specific result for a query, there’s a high probability it’s the right result. What the measure of customer satisfaction in the context of a SERP (Search Engine Return Page)? A bounce.

Bounce rate is a measure of the signal to noise ratio of a SERP. A high bounce rate indicates more noise and lack of relevance. A low bounce rate more signal or information. The higher the information value of a particular link for a particular query, the higher Bing ranks the link on the SERP until at some mysterious point it becomes the “Best Match.”

Above is an example of best match on a query for Microsoft. Achieving best match status has several advantages but the one that first caught my attention was the inline search using the site’s own internal search function.

If a site warrants best match for a query, Bind sends a robot to crawl the site and determine if there’s a simple search interface. If it finds one, it incorporates the interface into the SERP. It’s an interesting innovation that extends the value of search by making it more efficient, or at least as efficient as your internal search function.

Having good internal search isn’t an option. For some people it’s their preferred method of navigation. And now it’s a doorway to your site, an even greater impetus to perfect the relevance of your site’s search function.

Given the sad state of search on most name brand sites, there’s a real risk of being caught with your pants down in public.

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