Bing Testing Search Carousel as Google Rolls Out Replacement
While Google is moving away from its Carousel format, Bing seems to be adopting a similar design in the SERPs.
This month, Bing was spotted testing an expanded Carousel on its search results, a scrolling results feature at the top of search, designed for easy user access to relevant information.
Google, which has featured a Carousel in search for some time, is replacing the feature with a new search feature at the top of SERPs.
The Bing Carousel, spotted by search analyst Roman Fitch of CPC Strategy, shows a similar format and usability to the existing Google Carousel:
The Carousel includes restaurant information, location, Yelp reviews, price, and a Knowledge-Graph feel.
Unlike Google’s Carousel, however, clicking results within Bing’s Carousel does not lead to an external website, but instead populates additional information on the Bing search page:
This October, Bing was spotted testing a Carousel-like feature with movie results, which similarly mimicked Google’s Carousel format:
Bing’s search test is notable as it comes right on the heels of Google phasing out its own search Carousel. Google’s Carousel initially highlighted hotel results on search (Nov 2013), and subsequently evolved to include local search results, ZIP codes, restaurants, and, even retail products.
Ironically, just as Bing is expanding its Carousel in search results, Google is moving toward discontinuing the use of its own Carousel, replacing search information with a new, but similar Knowledge Graph feature in search.
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The new Google search feature highlights two to five separate search results at the top of search, with similar product information which was previously highlighted in Google’s Carousel, and no scrolling feature.
Google’s search feature links out to a separate search page:
As of today Google’s new search feature appears on hotel and restaurant searches, and concert searches, but Google’s Knowledge Graph is still populating for movie searches.
Whether Google will completely roll out this new search feature and axe its Carousel remains to be seen. Bing seems to be rolling out its Carousel for more searches, but one wonders whether Google’s search feature update will change the trajectory of Bing’s Carousel.
As ever, Google and Bing are continually testing and evolving search to match need of their users, a particularly interesting ballet to watch, especially during this key online shopping season.