Google to Lose Search Market Share? Microsoft Predicts Huge Gains for Bing

Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system has the potential to lead to significant gains in search market share for Bing, or so the company predicts in an announcement today.

The new operating system puts Bing at the forefront, which is a change the company says will lead to query volume gains from 10 to 15 percent as early as September.

Microsoft is framing this as good news for Bing advertisers, suggesting there will be "significant volume" in time for holiday campaigns.

If that ends up being the case, it could end up being a blow to Google's search market share.

Gains are predicted to come from new users, as well as current users who will end up using Bing more frequently as a result of the changes in Windows 10.

"We're estimating query volume gains from 10 to 15 percent as early as September — not only from new users, but from existing Bing users who will now use Bing more frequently."

Windows 10 comes with a new desktop search bar that is powered by the company's own search engine, Bing, and voice-activated assistant, Cortana.

In addition, the new Microsoft Edge browser comes built with new features that could lead to an increase in Bing searches.

For example, the ability to highlight text and conduct a search on the highlighted subject is a particularly useful addition that could prove to be popular among Windows users.

Bing search is also coming to more devices via the Cortana app on iOS and Android.

"With the Cortana app on iOS and Android, Bing will draw in new users, and continue to expand our overall search and mobile search share."

Microsoft bringing its search assistant to other devices is the equivalent of Apple releasing a Siri app on Android, but in doing so the company hopes to attract new users to its search engine.

The Cortana app can fulfill more than just search queries — its cross-device functionality allows it to connect with Windows PCs to keep information like calendar appointments in sync across all devices.

Microsoft has high hopes for Bing, as it states the integration into more devices will lead to nothing but growth for the search engine.

"…we expect continued growth in Bing traffic into the foreseeable future."

These are bold predictions considering Windows 10 just launched today. We'll see when next quarter's numbers come how much Microsoft's new OS means to Bing's growth.

Image Credit: Lucian Milasan / Shutterstock.com

Source: Google to Lose Search Market Share? Microsoft Predicts Huge Gains for Bing