Well the day has finally come. Microsoft stepped up to bat and it's hit in the air, it's going, going it's off the fence for a ground rule double. What I'm referring to has noting to do with the pennant race it has more to do with the search engine race. As we know MSN is the proverbial third place finisher in the search engine race. Over recent months their market share has continued to slowly dwindle. Microsoft has been accused of missing the mark with search. Bill Gates himself has stated this fact. Improvement with their search service has been long overdue.
This week Microsoft re-entered the playing field and has released their new attempt at improving search with
Windows Live. My first thoughts were hmm this is pretty sleek but I cannot wait to see what results will be returned when I perform a query. While I haven't spent a large amount of time experimenting and testing Windows Live, I have used it enough to determine what I like and don't like about it.
Windows Live Search - Base Hits (Pros)Here are some of the items that I think Microsoft has done right with Windows Live Search.
Clean, Easy to Use Interface - the interface is very sleek and clean. The search bar allows you to see search results from the Web, images, local maps/directions, videos, etc without having to re-enter your query in the search box.
Advanced Features - Presents you with the option to define your search results by search terms, domain, geography, language and more. This is pretty cool.
Related Searches - allows you refine your query by simply clicking on a list of related terms
More Function - allows you to search further via the Academic or Feeds option
Relevancy - relevancy in the results returned has improved somewhat (at least for the queries that I performed). Improving the relevancy factor is one area where the engines as a whole could improve upon.
Windows Live Search - Strikeouts (Areas for Improvement)
Local Search - the local search function continues to be a bit of disappointment as results were not as relevant as I would have liked for the queries that I tested. Local Search results also tended to load slowly. The maps are pretty cool and are easy to read.
Images - at times took a while to load, and results were not the greatest (depending on the query)
News - needs improvement to be competitive with Google and Yahoo.
Search Settings - very limited in being able to modify your search settings
Relevancy - I've listed this as a 'pro' and 'con' as I feel the Microsoft can still improve on the results being returned.
When I say that Microsoft has hit a ground rule double I say this because this was a great attempt to improve their search offering. For me search has always been and always will be about finding relevant information. MSN traditionally has not provided the most relevant search results and as a result the most relevant information. While they may not have hit a homerun with Windows Live Search, they have stepped in the right direction with a solid two-base hit.
Jody Nimetz
Organic Search Strategist
Enquiro Full Service
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