Microsoft quietly follows in Google's footsteps with a new Bing Search redesign. But the change has been met with criticism from marketers.
What: Following the Google Search redesign, Technical SEO Strategist Scott Jackson pointed out on Twitter that the Microsoft Ads labels in Bing search results are also hard to notice among organic search results. Where the ads used to be much more visible, there is now a regular-sized “ad” label next to each ad which would be indistinguishable for those who aren’t familiar with the search results.
Why: As stated in a previous news update of ours, the Google Search Redesign sparked controversy on social media last week, with one user stating it made it “even more difficult to differentiate ads from actual results.” Therefore as well as raising concern over Google Search, by highlighting Microsoft’s Ads label, advertisers would recognise it isn’t just Google trying to cause confusion.
The result: Rusty Brick CEO and search engine blogger Barry Schwartz highlighted the issue straight after the initial tweet, where he concluded: “I guess this is the trend – search engines want more clicks on ads, and aim to confuse searchers to click on the ads.” However, since Google has supposedly backtracked on its redesign stating it will experiment with some elements of the new look in response to user feedback, it’s possible Microsoft Advertising will also reconsider the comparable design of Bing Search.
