Will “Bing” Sink or Swim?

With Microsoft’s latest search engine, Bing, launching yesterday, there has been a lot of speculation as to whether their “decision engine” will survive. Even with the heavy marketing onslaught reporting to cost over $100 million, the unveiling of this new and improved search experience may have some tough hurdles to overcome.

For instance, Google still controls a major slice of the search engine pie and while it would not be impossible to overthrow the search giant, it will definitely be an uphill struggle. With Microsoft’s “Live” search engine being replaced with “Bing”, they’ve essentially done some clever re-branding and may be able to pull from third place and possibly overtake Yahoo! in the search engine war.

Launched in 2006, Live Search never became the success that Microsoft envisioned. Microsoft blamed it on branding and its distinct lack of marketing. With Bing, Microsoft has added such features as search suggestions as you type, search history and associated search suggestions appearing on the left side of the results page.

As of June 2nd 2009, Bing has already run into some trouble as they have been blocked in China for undisclosed reasons. While this may have little effect on Bing’s overall success, it could be an ominous sign that it may not be an easy road ahead for the young search enterprise.