Most marketers initially think of Google when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). But after Microsoft launched its AI-powered search engine tool earlier this year, the number of users on Bing has significantly increased. Total visits have amplified to up to 25.29%. Engagement in Bing has also improved.
Google may have dominated the search engine market share, but Bing still has a significant portion of the search market. It is used by millions of users around the world. That is why optimizing your website for Bing users is as crucial as optimizing it for Google.
Bing SEO refers to optimizing a site to improve its ranking and visibility on the Bing search engine results pages. It involves a series of strategies and techniques to improve the site’s overall performance, thus attracting more organic traffic.
The SEOLeverage app can provide you with an overview of your site’s performance so you have an idea about what’s keeping your pages from getting traffic and conversion rates. Our team of SEO experts can also provide you with tips and tricks to help your sites rank high on Bing, Google, and other search engines.
In this guide, we will explore the following:
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Optimizing your web pages for the Bing search engine is highly important for several reasons:
Bing has less competition in specific niches and industries as compared to Google. This indicates that optimizing your site will give you a better chance of getting higher Bing SEO rankings and organic traffic if most of your competitors are focused on Google SEO.
Bing may have fewer user base than Google. But optimizing your site for both search engines will increase your visibility to a broader audience. You will also cover a bigger share of the search engine market.
If you neglect Bing, you are missing out on potential opportunities and traffic to connect with millions of users who prefer Bing as their default search engine.
Bing attracts a more diverse demographic profile than Google. Most of them are older, with higher average incomes, and more likely to purchase online. So if these people are among your target audience, optimizing your web pages will help you reach and engage with Bing users.
Voice search is rising in popularity. That means optimizing for Bing has become more crucial.
Bing supports voice search queries through its virtual assistants like Cortana. If you optimize your website for Bing’s voice search capabilities and search algorithms, you boost your chances of capturing voice-driven traffic and appearing in voice search results.
Bing offers an alternative source of traffic to help diversify your site’s traffic channels. Depending only on Google will make you highly vulnerable to algorithm updates. SEO for Bing will create a safety net that will help you drive constant traffic to your web pages even if you get fluctuations in Google rankings.
Bing supports different platforms, such as Microsoft’s products and services. This includes integration with the following:
Like Google, Bing also has an advertising platform – Microsoft Advertising (formerly known as Bing Ads). Optimizing for Bing will increase your chances of success with Bing Ads campaigns.
Additionally, your SEO efforts will enhance and complement your paid ads strategies. And this can lead to a more effective and comprehensive digital marketing approach.
Here are some of the Bing SEO tips to follow for optimizing your site’s visibility and rankings:
Bing has three pillars of content:
Basically, Bing wants you to:
Moreover, create and publish informative, engaging, and valuable content that aligns with user intent. Your copies must focus on quality, relevance, and readability. Also, include relevant keywords naturally in the content while providing value to users.
Use Bing’s Keyword Research Tool to identify keywords with lower competition and decent search volume.
Bing is all about using exact keywords instead of context and semantics. Still, you need to use the exact match keywords naturally in your content. Add them to your content, headings, titles, meta descriptions, and alt tags.
The SEOLeverage app allows you to see clicks and impressions for your branded and non-branded keywords.
Make sure to make your site mobile-friendly. It needs to load quickly. Users should also easily navigate through your site.
Use descriptive anchor texts, give clear calls-to-action, and optimize the images for faster loading times. Focusing on user experience will contribute significantly to higher visibility and Bing rankings.
Bing highly considers the relevance and quality of backlinks as a ranking factor. Thus, acquire natural backlinks from reputable sites through guest posting, content promotion, and establishing relationships with authoritative sources and influencers in your industry.
Stay away from link schemes, paid links, reciprocal links, and links from hacked websites. Doing so will prevent your site from getting delisted from Bing’s index.
We can provide interlinking suggestions, and you can easily see them in the SEOLeverage app.
Use relevant keywords on on-page elements like meta descriptions, URLs, page titles, and headings. Keep them descriptive and compelling for your target audience.
Additionally, make sure your site’s structure is easily navigable and well-organized.
The SEOLeverage features a tool that allows you to check your CTR to compare before and after your optimization efforts.
Local optimization is also important, especially for local businesses. Make sure your business information, such as your name, phone number, and address, is consistent on all local listings and directories. You can use Bing Places for Business to optimize and claim your business listing.
Bing considers social signals as one of the ranking factors. So maintain an active presence on social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Share your content and engage with Bing users.
Bing advocates against any shady social media strategies where you can gain many followers. The rule of thumb is buying social media followers won’t help you rank in Bing search results or any search engine.
Make sure your website is secure. Protect it against hacking attempts and malware. Use SSL certificates for safe and secure browsing.
Also, update your software regularly. Implement measures to safeguard the integrity of your website.
Stay updated with Bing webmaster guidelines, ranking algorithm changes, and recommendations. Monitor your site’s performance, traffic, and rankings. Based on the data you gather, make all the necessary adjustments to your SEO strategies.
Bing Webmaster Tools is Bing’s free service that includes a range of tools and features to help you optimize your sites for the Bing search engine. It gives valuable data, insights, and resources to improve your site’s performance for Bing.
Here are the perks of using Bing’s tools:
It will provide data on crawl errors, inbound links, and indexed pages to your site. This pertinent information will help you identify and address any issues that may affect the visibility and performance of your website on Bing.
It offers data that allows you to analyze and optimize your website's search performance on Bing. These include insights into impressions, clicks, and average position for specific keywords and pages.
Submitting your site’s XML sitemap will help Bing fully understand the content and structure of your site. It ensures that Bing crawls and indexes your pages more efficiently. And this can lead to improved visibility in Bing search results.
It shows which pages are indexed, blocked, or restricted. It also displays any crawl issues encountered. This helps you ensure that Bing can properly access and index your site’s content.
Bing Webmaster Tools includes a feature to detect and alert you to potential malware or security issues on your website. It will notify you if Bing detects any suspicious or harmful activities on your site. That way, you can take immediate action to resolve the problem and protect your website's reputation.
You can set crawl rates and specify crawl priorities for different sections of your site. You can even request Bingbot to recrawl specific pages or directories.
You can view the number of backlinks, referring domains, and anchor text used. This data will help you understand your site's link profile and identify opportunities for building high-quality backlinks.
This feature will give insights into crawl status, indexation status, and any issues encountered during the crawling process. Also, you can request Bing to recrawl specific URLs for quicker updates.
This tool will check for any errors or issues in your structured data markup, such as Schema.org markup. Ensure accurate and error-free markup. This will help Bing understand and display your website's content more effectively in search results.
Tools like crawl reports, search keyword reports, and inbound link reports will help you monitor your website's health. You can identify and fix any issues and gain insights into user behavior and search trends.
Bing's Webmaster Tools is an essential resource for optimizing your website for the Bing search engine. Leverage its features and functionality so you can gain valuable insights and monitor your website’s overall performance. That way, you know what SEO efforts to pour over your web pages to make them rank high on Bing.
Optimizing your site for Bing's search results pages is crucial to expand your reach and tap into different demographics. You can benefit from Bing's integration with various platforms and diversify your traffic sources. By considering Bing SEO alongside Google SEO, you can maximize your website's visibility, traffic, and overall digital marketing success.
But remember that Bing's algorithms and ranking factors may differ slightly from Google's. Tailor your optimization efforts to meet Bing's specific requirements. Keep up with the latest SEO best practices and guidelines provided by Bing. And adapt your strategies accordingly to gain Bing traffic and maintain a competitive edge.
Yes. Bing is the second largest search engine. By investing in Bing SEO and optimizing your website for Bing's search algorithms, you have the potential to boost organic traffic and increase the visibility of your website.
Yes, Bing and Google have different ranking factors and algorithms. While there may be some similarities, Bing puts emphasis on factors like social signals, backlinks, and user experience.
Yes, optimizing for local searches on Bing involves certain strategies. These include claiming and optimizing your business listing on Bing Places for Business, ensuring consistent NAP (name, address, phone number) information across directories, and incorporating relevant local keywords in your content.
Yes, like Google, Bing can penalize websites for SEO violations. Adhere to Bing's guidelines and avoid keyword stuffing, cloaking, or acquiring low-quality backlinks that violate Bing's guidelines.
Though there may be some overlap, you should tailor your SEO tactics to each search engine. Bing and Google share common best practices, but it's important to understand the differences in ranking factors and algorithms to optimize effectively for each platform.
