Duane Forrester was recently laid off from Bing in the last round of Microsoft layoffs.  Hot on the heels of winning the Search Personality of the Year at the US Search Awards, many were pretty surprised that his role was eliminated, as he was one of the most visible people to webmasters from Bing.

Now, two months later, we now know where Forrester ended up in his new job… and it is Bing.

For those who know how passionate he is about Bing, it isn’t a surprise.

It remains to be seen how “visible” his presence will be for webmasters used to seeing him at most search conferences.  But he will still be visible on the Bing Webmaster blog, along with other new voices as well, although he stresses the team is so strong that they have done well in his absence.  His main presence seems to be more on the API side of things now.

I’m also going to be spending time working with folks on the API side of the house, seeking ways to grow engagement with our data-level opportunities for businesses. It’s no secret that the data-layer will continue to be one of the most important aspects of search moving forward. The trick is helping businesses understand how to access it and leverage it for their own success.

While I am sure there are multiple SEO companies disappointed they weren’t able to snag him for their teams, he did spend time interviewing and considering other companies, including GoDaddy, eBay, Nike and Amazon.  But he is back where he made a huge impact on the industry – Bing.