Matt Cutts to Bing, Torres to Man Utd

It is a tenuous link, designed to grab your attention of course, but here goes anyway. Through a discussion between the SEO engineers in the Fresh Egg office it was suggested (by me) that instead of simply retiring or getting pensioned off, Matt Cutts might, instead decide to join Bing, Google’s up –and-coming rival. Our erstwhile SEO director however disagreed and pointed out that Cutt’s departure to Bing was about as likely as Fernando Torres leaving Liverpool for Manchester United.

Mr.Colbran won't be best pleased about this!

Now before you hang me out to dry as a nobody in the SEO world clutching (or should that be Cutting – Ed, terrible attempt at a Matt Cutts joke) at straws, hear me out because the logic in this one isn’t as far fetched as you might imagine.

Firstly, let’s argue that Bing is on the verge of becoming a very real player in the search market, especially with signs on multiple accounts that it is growing at a rapid rate and taking market share not only from Yahoo but from Google too. Let’s also imagine that in 18 months from now, it offers a very real alternative to search giant Google and not just on organic and paid searches but across the board. Utilising all that is good about Facebook recently suggests Microsoft already has a good eye for the devil in the detail and fully embraces how people will use search engines in the next couple of years. Add in the awful implementation by Google of not only places but also instant in recent months, all rushed in to service whilst appearing either half finished or still in beta.

Microsoft as we all know is not immune to this kind of work either and has made a multitude of mistakes over the years on various releases of operating systems and updates, but with Bing they seem to be jollying along nicely, not rushing in to anything, but not ignoring the latest fads and crazes either. In fact, their approach looks almost sensible to updates compared to the dictatorial fashion in which Google unleashes its own changes.

Is Cutts making a transfer?

From an SEO perspective too, Google is finding as much as it can to alienate or at the very least marginalise those in SEO through the introduction of new “features”, yet Bing are taking a different approach and have almost (but not quite) welcomed SEO engineers in to the bosom of their heart. The only thing missing for Bing, to my mind at least is someone out there championing them and their ethos and interacting with the huge SEO world at large. Which is why they need a Matt Cutts type figure or better still, the man himself.

As in football, when you take a player from one team, you not only improve your own, but you weaken the old team too and this can’t have escaped the pay masters at Bing. Frankly, if Bing wants to grow quickly, they should be ready to make the biggest signing in SEO history and splash the cash on Cutts, he might just score more than Torres does in a Manchester United shirt – You read it here first.