Optimizing SEO for Bing- not Google
When companies speak in terms of search engines, the majority of the time they are referring to Google. Google is the largest search engine that holds over 80 percent of the market share. It is understandable then why Google would be one of the top search engines that companies spend their SEO budget on, but Bing could be a gold mine for potential customers.
Bing is another search engine, and in other countries, Bing holds a larger market share percentage. Furthermore, Bing powers Yahoo, so at the same time, it can be reaching a smaller percentage of users who still type into Yahoo.
While Google is the largest search engine out there, it is important to analyze where other potential customers are coming from. The rise of alternative search engines only continues to get a bit bigger over time.
Here are the top five ways to optimize your website for Bing, not Google.
How to optimize for Bing
1. Learn Bing Webmaster Tools
While Bing is small, depending on the industry, it could be a valuable tool. There is less competition on Bing versus Google, and with it powering Yahoo, it could be the small but mighty kick your website needs.
Just like Google, Bing has their own set of Webmaster Tools to follow and obey to stay in its good graces. It is important to create a new account and add your website. This will tell Bing “hey, here is my website and all its awesome pages,” and this is where Bing will start the process of crawling your site.
While it sounds similar to Google, there are a couple of differences to keep in mind.
2. Claim your business on Bing Places
Google has Google Business Profiles, Bing has Bing Places. The goal of both of this different software is to provide the best local search results. You’ll need an optimized listing with the location, all information filled out, and any reviews to help put your business in the Bing Places search results.
3. Exact keyword phrases are important
Google has the ability to decipher basically any search query and provide the right results. It can be said that very few times does Google not understand the intention behind the search.
On-page SEO follows the general rule of thumb set in place by all search engines, but with Bing, the exact keyword phrase has to be written on the page, title, meta description, or elsewhere to populate for search results.
Our Colorado SEO consultants want to note while off-page SEO, such as backlinking, is worth the investment, it is better to focus on on-page SEO and its overall strategy.
4. Quality content
Quality content is the basis for all search engines out there. Here are Bing’s three biggest factors to take into consideration when writing content for their search engine.
- Relevance
- Quality and credibility
- User engagement
- Freshness
- Page load time
Bing is looking for trustworthy content, if the content is useful or suffices the search query, and if it is well-presented and easy to follow.
There are a few differences between Bing and Google in this aspect, but for all search engines, quality content is what keeps the digital marketing realm running smoothly. Bill Gates, who owns Microsoft, who owns Bing, even stated himself, “Content is king.” Bing holds this value true to this day!
5. Social media matters
While it is debated whether social media matters for Google ranking or not, Bing can confirm that social media marketing strategies are a big part of ranking on the search engine!
Bing places more importance on user engagement when it comes to social media and its channels. If a social influencer is publishing content about their industry, more than likely, this influencer’s blog will take precedence over another blog.
Another thing Bing looks at with social media? Likes, shares, and comments. The more shares and comments throughout your social media presence, the better.
While Bing does hold a smaller percentage of the market share, it could be an important part of the overall SEO strategy depending on your target audience. For more information regarding how to optimize for Bing or Google with the right SEO strategies, contact our Colorado SEO consultant today!