ClubBING Google: 3 Ways Bing Beats Google

As a marketer, I obviously prefer Google to Bing. And I would recommend that companies focus on Google rather than Bing the majority of the time.

But as a consumer, I love using Bing.

Yep, I'm not afraid to admit it. Hear me, world: I love Bing! I've boiled it down to three big ways that I believe Bing beats Google.

But Google is King!

Of course, Borat is right, Google is very much the king. According to comScore data, Google ruled June 2014 with 67.6% market share in the U.S., with Bing the closest challenger at 19.2%. It should be mentioned, though, that Bing grew from May to June. And that's a trend! In June 2013 Google held 66.7% and Bing had 17.9% (both cannibalizing market share from faltering Yahoo!).

Being more popular doesn't make something better. The Backstreet Boys, Ghostbusters 2 and the sport of hockey have something to say about that.

So let me get to the point:

Here are three ways Bing offers a superior experience to Google.

1) The Bing homepage tells me everything I need to know.

I adore the Bing homepage.

I love how trending news stories show up at the bottom so I can quickly know what's going on in the world.

Cats overrun island!? Be right back, clicking immediately...

I also enjoy seeing a new image every day. It feels fresh every time I load it up. Meanwhile, Google's home page is (purposefully) straightforward. That's fine, but it rarely offers anything compelling outside of a fun doodle every once in awhile. And don't get me started on Google News; it looks like it hasn't updated its design since 2005.

2) Bing pays me (and YOU!) to use their search engine.

You've probably heard this ad nauseam, but with Bing Rewards, Bing actually pays you to use its search engine. If I hit the limit of searches every weekday (which is pretty easy as a digital marketing professional), I end up earning enough for a $5 Starbucks card every month and a half.

In addition, the daily goals for extra credits teach you how to use Bing, and they can often be an interesting topics.

3) Image search is smart, useful and fun.

Let me show you two searches for Crater Lake:

And

In my opinion, the Bing interface gives you more options to find what you're looking for. Google keeps the clean look, but Bing is more useful. That's merely personal preference, though, let me show you some magic when you click on an image:

• Quick ways to find alternate image sizes. This little feature is very cool. Find a picture and want either a larger or smaller version? Click the "Image Match" button and it will show you different sizes of the same picture. Magic.
• Slideshow functionality. Okay, I will readily admit that this is more flair than function, but perform a Bing image search for any meme and .gif and "Play All" wins. Here you go, you won't regret clicking on this.
• Intergrated "Pin It" button. Why is the "integrated" part so special? Bing actually pulls the image from the source when you want to pin the image to Pinterest. If you have the "Pin It" extension installed, you can pin from a Google search but that Google search is the source, not where the image is located.

Do I have you convinced?

Do yourself a favor and give Bing a try!

What do you think? Am I off my rocker? Are there features on Bing that you prefer? Let us know in the comments below!