Microsoft is allegedly working on a new translate feature for Bing search queries according to a report by Search Engine Roundtable. The site says that it received a screenshot (image below) from a German-based SEO consultant Frank Sandtmann which shows this new feature in action.
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The image apparently shows Bing asking the user whether they would like to search for the query in the local language, which in this case is German. When the search for "bike repair" was entered, Bing seems to be asking if the user would want to search instead for "fahrrad reparatur" which is the German translation for bike repair.
Sandtmann believes that the feature could prove more helpful than a normal English search if someone were travelling, since a local language search may help yield better search results than an English one. Here"s what he tells Search Engine Roundtable about this:
This feature makes sense, as I was searching on the English version of Bing from Germany. So I might prefer to search in the local language.
Also, he noted that the feature was already working in Bing Germany and speculates that it could be a glitch, but it"s also entirely possible that Microsoft is testing the new feature with a subset of users.
surprisingly this feature is also offered, when searching on Bing Germany.
In our own testing, when searching for "bike repair" from neighbouring country The Netherlands, we were only offered results nearby to our location.
It will be interesting to see when and if this feature rolls out to everyone, or whether Microsoft chooses to keep it in specific regions only.
Source and image: Search Engine Roundtable