Bing has announced a series of new features for niche search markets that marketers may like. In the company's search blog, it explains that its new features, which will go […]

Bing has announced a series of new features for niche search markets that marketers may like.

In the company's search blog, it explains that its new features, which will go live over the next few weeks, aim to improve result relevancy for users. The company's definition of a quality search result can be a lesson for marketers in how to effectively engage online audiences.

First, Bing says that results should offer a "visually organized experience," which brings to mind marketers' must-haves: calls to action. The company says quality result pages should be assembled in an order "that moves searchers from idea to action."

Additionally, Bing emphasizes the need for results to offer interaction tools, have social recommendations and cater to device intelligence for geographically relevant results. 

Marketers may be pleased to learn that the search engine will be increasing the visibility of sites that follow these golden rules of content. Starting today, the company is operating with new mobile updates to enhance on-the-go and local search results.

Bing will also help consumers find brands their Facebook friends Like with a new social feature that expands the number of sites in search results that will include social data. Bing will also launch a new image search that makes it easier for consumers to find photos they want to see.

These new search features will raise the stakes for businesses in terms of creating content that is mobile-ready, acts as Like-bait and offers intuitive interaction to reach Bing users – and this is a notably growing community of online Americans. The latest comScore data shows that even as Google sites continue to gain search ground, Microsoft is seeing the largest month-over-month improvements in terms of explicit core searches. 

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.