S.P.I.D.E.R.S Team: A Helpful Search Tip: Using Bing Search Preferences by Kay Kelison

Using Bing Search Preferences

Bing, is a solid tool for searching the web, as a principal sourcer for Bing/Microsoft I thought I would help users be more productive and effective in their searches. Bing provides users a customizable Search Preferences as an easy way to do basic personalization of how your search engine results are displayed. By using Bing search preferences you can customize settings such as the display language, default geographic location, number of search results to display per page, etc

Many of the Bing search preferences settings are similar to the Google. To access the Bing search preferences click on the Extras link in the top right-hand corner.

A drop down list will appear where you can click on the Preferences link that will lead to a page that is divided into two sections General Settings and Web Settings

General Settings – Bing Search Preferences

1. Safe Search: there are three levels for filtering web content and potentially blocking or allowing sexually explicit content. The three settings available are: No filtering of sexually explicit content; Moderate filtering (sexually explicit images and videos); and Strict filtering (sexually explicit text, images and videos). Each is followed by an explanation of what is filtered. You can also report offensive links that the filters might miss by clicking on the “filtering offensive sites” link below the buttons. Bing search preferences for Safe Search are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Safe Search

2. Location: by entering a city and state or a Zip Code you can help Bing present results that are the most relevant for searches related to geography. Geographically related search examples might be shopping, maps, or other results where the physical location is important. You can also leave this blank if you prefer no geographic affiliation. Bing search preferences for Location are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Location

3. Display: this option allows you to choose a specific language for the display and layout in Bing. Changing this option does not affect the language of the actual search results. Click the drop down arrow to select a different language Bing search preferences for Display are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Display Language

4. Results: This option can be quite useful in boosting search productivity as it directly controls how your results are displayed. The drop down arrow next to show allows you to select how many search results are displayed on each search results pages. The default is ten results (or links) per results page with the options available ranging from 10 to 50 results per page.

Web Settings – Bing Search Preferences - these settings apply only to your Web search results

The check box allows you to tell Bing whether to open new page or to use your current page when you click on a link in the search results. By checking this box when you click on a link in the search results that Bing has displayed Bing will keep your current search page open and open the link you clicked on in a new page or tab. If you leave this unchecked Bing will replace the search results page with the page from the link you clicked on. Highly suggest that you check this box. Bing search preferences for Results are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Results Options

5. Search suggestions: This option allows Bing to display suggestion as you enter text into the search box. With this search preference checked Bing will offer possible suggestions to complete the word or phrase as you type. This can be a big help in decreasing the amount of typing you need to do as Bing completes the word or phrase for you. It can also be very helpful if you are not sure of the correct spelling of a word or phrase as Bing will offer suggestions with the correct spelling. The only real downside of turning Search Suggestions on is that it can sometimes be distracting. Bing search preferences for Search Suggestions are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Search Suggestions

6. Search Language: this option allows you to limit your searches to content written in a specific language. In setting a language it is generally best to search in any language and only select a specific language if you are looking for content only in that specific language. The image below is only a partial view of the languages available. An example of some of the languages available in Bing search preferences are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Search Language

7. Important: Remember to click on the “Save Settings” button at the bottom of the screen to save your new settings or they will not be saved.

Customizing search preferences can be a real productivity booster regardless of the search engine you are using. Mine… of course is Bing J