Bing and Facebook "Like" one another. Should you "Like" this deal?

Big news in the social search sphere yesterday, as Microsoft and Facebook announced that Bing search results will include things your friends “Liked” on Facebook. They’re also working on including Facebook profile information into people searches on Bing. All of which is pretty cool stuff.

But here’s the question: Should you care? Will this matter to your business? Let’s look at the facts:

1. According to Comscore, Bing increased its search share in September to 11.2%, a 1 percent gain. Google also increased its search share 1 percent – from 65.4% to 66.1%. Advantage: Google.
2. Bing plans to grow its share by partnering with Yahoo. Of course, with both Bing and Google gaining share in the last month, guess where that share came from? You got it: Yahoo. In fact, Yahoo might be selling itself to AOL. Oh, and AOL’s search is powered by Google. While it’s too soon to say how this shakes out (I could easily see M$ buying AOL out of its deal if they do pony up for Yahoo), I’d still say the advantage leans in Google’s favor.
3. Facebook’s “Like” data is a really big deal. Mashable reports that the “Like” button is used on over 2 million sites, to say nothing of Facebook’s half-a-billion users clicking their preferences everyday. Advantage: Microsoft. Big time.

So, who wins? Well, loads of folks out on the Web think this is a huge deal for Microsoft and Facebook. And, I definitely agree that this is a big step forward for how search engines rank results. But, this deal only makes sense for Microsoft and Facbook if consumers use Bing. If even a small percentage of Facebook’s 500 million friends start using Bing regularly for searches, either inside Facebook or on the site itself, then Google ought to be worried. At the same time, given its enormous share, I wouldn’t end your Google AdWords campaign just yet.

I always like to give you a conclusive answer. But, in this case, time – and customers – will tell. The real takeaway here is to stay tuned. I think social search isn’t remotely settled yet.

What do you think? Should Google’s geeks be quaking in their sandals and socks? Or is this nothing but a bunch of hot air? Tell us what you think in the comments.

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