Bing Homepage Experience Enhancement Program
Overview
The Microsoft Bing homepage project focused on delivering an innovative and engaging user experience by incorporating a dynamic, visually striking feature: a new image displayed daily. This design choice was aimed at making Bing stand out from other search engines, which typically offered a more static and utilitarian interface. By showcasing beautiful and diverse images, Bing not only provided aesthetic appeal but also created a sense of discovery and curiosity for users. Each day, visitors were greeted with a fresh visual experience, encouraging them to explore more. This creative approach successfully differentiated Bing in a highly competitive market, adding an element of surprise and delight that resonated with users and set it apart from its competitors.
Business Challenges
In Microsoft's search engine business, the main business challenge was how to stand out in the Chinese search engine market dominated by strong competitors. Between 2008 and 2009, Baidu held the top position with about 70% market share, Google China ranked second with about 20%, while Sogou and Yahoo China ranked third and fourth respectively. Microsoft's search engine had a low market share and failed to enter the top four.
Facing the strong inertia of Chinese users' habits, Bing adopted a unique strategy. Through the design of updating beautiful images daily, Bing attempted to attract users with a unique visual experience, breaking the monotonous state of search interfaces. This differentiation strategy aimed to enhance brand awareness, spark user interest, gradually build user stickiness, and thus find a breakthrough in the fierce market competition.
Solution
Due to Bing's successful performance in the U.S. market, despite its low market share in China, the team decided to replicate the successful model of the Bing homepage project in the Chinese market. After launch, Bing localized the homepage images, not only aligning them culturally but also introducing a series of storytelling images related to major Chinese events and holidays. This localization attempt aimed to enhance attractiveness through cultural resonance with users, thereby building a stronger user connection in the Chinese market.
Target User Group
During the period of 2009-2010, Bing's target user groups in China included the following segments:
Technology enthusiasts and professionals: These users typically have more knowledge about foreign products and services, and are willing to try new technologies and experiences. Bing attracted some tech-interested users through its innovative visual design and features that differed from domestic search engines.
High-end users and employees of foreign companies: Due to Bing's strong influence in the U.S. market, some employees of foreign companies or high-end users who frequently engage with international markets were more inclined to use internationalized search tools.
Users who value user experience and visual enjoyment: Bing's daily image updates on its homepage became a differentiating highlight, attracting users with higher requirements for aesthetics and visual experience.
Based on the characteristics of these user groups, we developed a series of specific standards and guidelines for selecting images for Bing's homepage.
Interaction Details
Based on the functional layout characteristics of search engine pages and users' interaction habits with the page, we developed a detailed set of interaction rules for Bing's homepage. These rules considered multiple aspects such as the position and prominence of the search box, the balance between images and search functionality, and user clicking and browsing behaviors. Our goal was to create an interface that is both aesthetically pleasing and practical, capable of attracting users' attention without affecting the core search functionality.
This set of interaction rules included details such as optimizing image loading speed, search box responsiveness, methods of displaying image information, and image-related search suggestions. We also paid special attention to the needs of mobile device users, ensuring a good user experience across different screen sizes. Through these carefully designed interaction rules, we aimed to improve overall user satisfaction, increase user dwell time, and encourage more exploratory search behaviors.
Program Achievement
The Bing homepage project achieved significant success after launching in the Chinese market:
Enhanced brand awareness: Through the differentiated design of daily updated images, Bing successfully established a unique brand image in the Chinese market. Compared to competitors' functional interfaces, Bing's visual innovation created a brand impression of "visual aesthetics" and "creative experience" in users' minds, attracting a segment of users who value user experience.
Increased user engagement: Although overall market share did not significantly increase, Bing's image strategy sparked user curiosity and interest, encouraging some users to return daily, and even visit the Bing homepage specifically to appreciate the daily image. This experience transcended the practicality of traditional search functions, bringing an emotional connection.
Media and word-of-mouth effect: The daily image updates on Bing's homepage generated discussion and attention in design circles and tech media. This novel user experience model was not only viewed as an innovative attempt for search engines but also prompted other internet products to pay more attention to the visual appeal of interface design.
User stickiness and feedback: The innovative image design won a group of loyal users. Some users were attracted by the daily updated images and became fans of the Bing homepage, with some even creating dedicated websites to collect and share daily Bing homepage images. This phenomenon proved the project's success in user experience and brand awareness, attracting a niche user group that values visual enjoyment and creative experiences, enhancing brand influence and user stickiness.
Websites specifically created by fans to collect Bing's daily homepage images