In reaction, Bing have strongly denied Google’s claims, saying they use “multiple signals and approaches” to compile their search results list and refute any accusations of copying and have instead accused Google of “spy-novelesque stunts.”

However a Google employee has created an online blog explaining how the investigation was conducted. According to the blog, Google engineers input a hundred fake nonsensical search queries and also phoney results. Google claims that within a matter of weeks, Bing were indexing the search queries and false results.

Bing have hit back at Google’s accusations, saying the investigation’s findings do not prove Bing have cheated. Instead the accused search engine says Google’s findings show “we learn from customers who are willing to share data with us” which they argue is the same strategy Google employs while compiling their results.

Instead of showing Bing up as cheats, Google’s alleged evidence may only prove that Bing are capable of picking up on trends quickly by indexing results for the dummy queries as they noted an increase of searches for this topic.

Bing have batted aside Google’s cheating claim calling it a “creative tactic” by a competitor to dent their reputation.

The natural results are the ones which have ranked highly because their sites are seen by the search engine to be the most useful, while the sponsored results have paid to be at the top. The studies of user habits would suggest that people realise that sponsored results have paid for their position but do the results transfer to real life?

Do you really choose the natural results which a search engine presents or do you go with the first site you see? Or maybe you try to choose the natural results but sometimes you just see a listing in the sponsored links which seems more relevant to what you were looking for, because let’s face it, there are times when Google can let you down too.

Well yes, by their nature you can trust them. The very fact that they exist and that you have found them means you can trust them because if they were crap, you wouldn’t have found them because the search engine wouldn’t have directed you to them because the search engine is there to protect you from crap.

During the late 1990s search engines were severely manipulated by crap which people thought would help their sites rank better. Well the search engines have learnt their lessons from those ‘dark ages’ and makes a point to ignore crap, ensuring that the sites, the SEO articles and the information which ranks where you can find it, is useful, correct and pertinent to your search.