Bing

What is Bing?

Bing is the search engine from the software corporation Microsoft and the second-largest search engine in the Western world after Google. It is deeply integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem, including the Windows operating system, the Edge browser, and the AI assistant Copilot. While Bing was long considered a little-noticed default search engine on Windows devices, the integration of AI features in recent years has given it new momentum and made it significantly more interesting for search engine optimisation.

A crucial point upfront: Bing is far more than just Bing.com. The same search index also powers other services, including Yahoo!, the search engine DuckDuckGo, the eco-friendly Ecosia, and, particularly important, Microsoft Copilot’s AI search as well as parts of ChatGPT. Those who optimise for Bing thus reach a whole range of other platforms at once.

How big is Bing?

Bing’s global market share is around 4 to 5 percent, depending on the source, placing it far behind Google. However, this figure alone doesn’t tell the whole story, for several reasons:

• Stronger on desktop: In the US desktop market, Bing achieves significantly higher shares, sometimes in the double-digit percentage range.
• Reach via other services: Since the Bing index also powers Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, and AI services, its actual reach is greater than the pure Bing.com figure suggests.
• Attractive target group: Bing users tend to be slightly older and more affluent, making Bing particularly interesting for certain industries.
• Less competition: As almost everyone focuses on Google, competition for good positions on Bing is often significantly lower.

Bing, Copilot, and AI search

The strategically most important development is the close connection between Bing and AI search. Microsoft’s AI assistant Copilot relies on the Bing index, and ChatGPT’s web search also uses Bing to obtain current web results. This creates a new, important link: content that performs well on Bing thus has an additional way to be cited as a source in AI-generated responses. Bing therefore becomes a central component of Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO). Microsoft has responded to this by introducing dedicated reports in the Bing Webmaster Tools that show how content appears in Copilot and AI summaries.

The Bing Webmaster Tools from an SEO perspective

The most important free tool for optimising for Bing is the Bing Webmaster Tools, the counterpart to the Google Search Console. Any website operator who wants to expand their reach beyond Google should register their website there. The most important functions are:

• Ensure indexing: You can check whether Bing can correctly crawl and index your website and submit an XML sitemap to ensure all pages are found.
• Easy import from Search Console: If you have already verified your site in the Google Search Console, you can transfer the data to Bing Webmaster Tools with just a few clicks, making the setup very straightforward.
• View performance data: Reports show which search queries users are coming to your site from and how your site ranks on Bing.
• Technical checks: Tips on crawling issues and mobile display help to fix technical errors.
• New AI reports: Recent features show how content is cited in Copilot and AI responses, a growing area for visibility.

How Bing SEO differs from Google SEO

The good news: the fundamentals are largely identical. High-quality content, a clean technical foundation, fast loading times, and high-quality backlinks are important for both search engines. Those who optimise for Google have already done most of the work for Bing. However, there are some known differences in weighting:

• Stronger keyword precision: Bing traditionally places more weight on exact matches, such as the keyword in the title tag and H1, than Google does.
• More weight on social signals: Active profiles on social networks, especially LinkedIn, play a greater role for Bing.
• Page-level evaluation: Bing often considers links and relevance at the individual page level rather than the entire domain level.
• Local visibility: For local searches, it is advisable to register with Bing Places, the equivalent of Google Business Profile.

Is Bing optimisation worth it?

For most website operators, Google remains the clear primary focus. However, also optimising for Bing is worthwhile because the additional effort is minimal: those who register their solid Google-optimised site in Bing Webmaster Tools, place the main keyword slightly further forward in the title, and maintain well-kept social media profiles, largely cover Bing as well. Given the growing importance of AI search and the low competition, this small additional effort is increasingly a worthwhile investment.

Conclusion

Bing is Microsoft’s search engine and the most important alternative to Google in the Western world. Its true significance is less about its pure market share and more about its role as the index behind Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, and, above all, the AI search of Copilot and ChatGPT. The central tool for optimisation is the free Bing Webmaster Tools, which can be set up effortlessly thanks to the import feature from Google Search Console. Since the SEO fundamentals largely align with Google’s and competition on Bing is lower, the additional optimisation for Bing is a manageable effort with growing benefits, especially in the age of AI-powered search.