When I have Internet Explorer open, I use their embedded Search box to quickly find what I’m after.
Before I even finish typing, it’s often interesting to see what the search engines predict I’m searching for.
It’s quite an innovation to provide new web searchers with insights of what previous searchers were looking for.
Well, sometimes it’s helpful. Sometimes it’s a little worrying what gets submitted from the wisdom of crowds:
I have Google and Bing both available.
I thought it’d be interesting to see how they compare. Or should I say, how their respective search users compare – particularly, which side are asking dumber questions.
My comprehensive, objective analysis follows.
Exhibit A: What is…?
Of particular concern, Bing users asking “what is the time”. Is there any internet searching device without a visible clock? Or perhaps users know their time’s wrong, and this is the way kids today find the correct time. Or an abbreviated search to find time conversion sites? (I’m still concerned.)
Google searching overall here looks a bit like soul searching. It could be the start to the most obscure joke in history (which I don’t know the answer to):
Q: What do scientology, gypsy, love, and the illuminati have in common?
Exhibit B: Difference between …?
The stark difference I see is that Bing searchers look quite nerdy focusing on HD, smart phones, laptops, & economics. Googlers on the other hand are interested in food and alcohol nuances.
Exhibit C: Proof that…?
I found these common searches interesting. It seems people everywhere put their searches of the world wide web of information to good use, seeking proof of God and Jesus. In addition to this, Googlers seem to cast a wider net than Bing users to check on not only aliens and ghosts, but also vampires and mermaids.
And Google is suggesting that many people are still researching whether news of rapper Tupac’s death is greatly exaggerated or not. On this point, it seems there’s a glass half-full / half-empty thing going on. Surprisingly, the most popular “proof that” search overall is whether Tupac is alive. Then even more surprisingly, also in the list in sixth place is the query for “proof that tupac is dead”
Conclusion:
I think the analysis is inconclusive to say whether one group of search users are smarter than the other – dangit.
However, it does seems to me Googlers are asking a greater variety of interesting questions.
If I find any other interesting search suggestions in my travels I’ll post some more.
An update:
It’s interesting, and by total coincidence, just today The New York Times tweeted a link to an article they published on Bing/Google web search auto complete / auto suggest:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/technology/in-search-engine-results-a-peek-at-what-we-wonder.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
My Bing didn’t let me google in Japanese. 🙂