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Bing Testing Rich Captions in the Search Results

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bing rich captions headerBing is testing a new section in their search results with brand keyword searches, along with images from the brand’s website… all while confusingly linking to a Bing search results page.

Here is how they appear on the page.

bing rich captions2

These appear to be called Rich Captions when looking at the source code.  They all feature the same thing – an image and then a link to a related search term.

Even though they appear directly below the brand’s search listing, they definitely give the impression that someone is clicking through to a Home Depot page, not another Bing search results page.  So this has the potential to mislead searchers that might have otherwise clicked on a true Home Depot link.

Here is an example for Nordstrom

bing rich captions3And another for Macy’s.

bing rich captions4Like the Home Depot example, while all feature the brand’s images and the brand’s name in the link name, they all just go to the Bing search results for the search term.

I am not sure this is a very good thing for searchers, since the expectation is clearly that the searcher will be going to the related page on each brand’s website.  Then there is the use of the thumbnail images, which are clearly related to the brand.  It is easy to see that the searcher’s assumption would be that the image is a thumbnail from an image on the page.

Now, if these rich search captions actually led to the brand’s website, then they would definitely be more useful.  There is always the potential that it could be a paid product with a “sponsored” tag.  And if so, I suspect some advertisers would be willing to pay some high CPCs in order to have their image thumbnail and link appear directly below a competitor’s search results listing.  They are very eye catching and it is easy to see where someone would click on these as opposed to the true brand link above it.

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Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post
Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.

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