SEO For Bing: Top 10 Reasons Why you should not Ignore!

What first comes to our mind when we think about SEO?

The big G right?

When we say SEO for a website, we only think about optimizing our site for Google.

Here is the deal, Bing, and Yahoo together dominate 33.6 percent of the desktop search engine market share in the U.S.

I mean that’s remarkable!

According to recent studies, Bing and Yahoo almost account for 80 percent of all searches related to education, automotive, and telecommunications and what’s even funny is that (maybe not funny).

Reasons To Optimize Your Site For Bing SEO

1.  Bing traffic converts better than Google Traffic

According to Matthew Woodward, Bing traffic had higher quality than Google. They Visit more page, which ultimately reduces the Bounce rate, Subscribe to the newsletter and also the best part “click more affiliate links“

2. Competition Is Lower

Seriously, Out of you reading this article, I bet more than half of you haven’t even thought of ranking in Bing. All they think about is how to rank in Google?

Now that we know Bing Traffic is valuable and leads to more conversion but the irony is that there is not much competition here.

I noticed that only a very few people are doing SEO for Bing.

All marketers go after Google, So, Bing has much lower competition as compared to Google.

Considering the fact that Yahoo search is powered by Bing, meaning that at least 51% of Yahoo’s searches are relying on Bing’s index and ranking algorithm.

You must realize that Bing is only second in line after Google.

I once heard a funny saying ( maybe funny in a serious way) from Jonathan Long Founder of Market Domination Media.

“Stop treating the Yahoo Bing Network like the red-headed stepchild”.

So, It’s important to know what you are missing out here.

3. Voice Search

Bing Currently Powers Yahoo and the Majority of Voice Search.

We have already learned that Yahoo search is powered by Bing so since Yahoo is backed by.

Bing’s index and ranking algorithm. If you are optimizing it for Yahoo, so does for Bing Too and vice-versa.

Fun Fact# Did you know that Siri Voice Search is also Powered by Bing too?

4. Bing ranking factors are more Public

As we all know that, Google doesn’t disclose the exact number and the ranking factors of a page.

But with Bing, that is not the case anymore. Bing is more open about their Ranking Factors compared to Google.

Here are a few factors Bing takes into account in ranking a page

• Keywords in the domain
• Short URLs
• Bing also likes TLD extensions (especially .gov, .edu, and .org)
• Link diversity matters more than on Google
• Using an exact anchor text tend to rank higher on Bing – especially when your anchor text matches the page title.
• According to Search Engine Journal, Bing tends to favor sites with a lot of content.
• Older domains tend to do better on Bing.
• The quality of your backlinks matters more than quantity.
• Social Signal

5. Bing Advertising is Cheaper

Thanks to the lower competition in Bing, the advertisement rate is also cheaper, especially if you are low on budget, Bing is a much better choice.

Bing also has better device targeting options and since Bing’s market share is growing, especially in the U.S, Bing Ads help you reach 33 percent of US customers.

Bing has better social extensions. With Bing, you can also add extensions to your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram business pages. However, Google Adwords has only Google Plus Extensions.

Since its cheap and delivers higher click-through rates (CTR) with a lower cost per click (CPC); this normally gives better ROI.

6. Bing Provides A Number of Free Analysis Tools

Microsoft provides a number of very helpful tools & guidelines in regards to SEO for Bing.

Here Are Some Tools To Help You To Optimize Your Site Better,

• Bing Webmaster Guidelines
• Bing Webmaster Tools
• Bing SEO Analyzer
• Bing Webmaster Blog
• Microsoft SEO Tool Kit
• Bing Search Quality Blog

Bing has provided you with the right tools to help you optimize your site for better results, make use of them.

7. Bing Prefers Older Websites

If your website is old, I mean not super aged but maybe around in a range of 2-5 years. Chances are Bing might favor you more than the newer websites.

This is one major difference between Google and Bing. Bing looks at site authority when checking backlinks or websites and sites which have to build a trustworthy name in their niche.

8. Social Signals

Google has denied that Social Signals play a special role in ranking a page even though many have claimed to it.

However, on the other hand, Social Signals is a direct ranking factor in Bing which they are very open about it and even announced it officially about it.

Bing tends to put more emphasis on social media signals compared to Google. The more social signals you get, the higher you’ll climb in SERPs.

But Bing too is against fake social media followers and engagement. So, if you are not necessarily in a competitive niche, chances are you can rank on Bing with only social signals alone.

9. Backlinks Are Less Important

By saying this, it doesn’t mean they are completely useless.

Like in Google, Backlinks also plays a role in the ranking of a page in Bing but it doesn’t necessarily depend only on Backlinks and they are less important in Bing then they are in Google.

If you compare the top ranking page in search results between Bing & Google you will notice that the top ranking sites in Bing have noticeably fewer backlinks than Google.

Bing gives more authority if the backlinks are coming from a relevant, trustworthy website and
are do-follow with the exact anchor text.

52 to 53% of the backlinks of websites that are ranking ranked among the top 30 in Bing results contain keywords in the anchor text.

10. Bing Image Search is Better

When it comes to image Search, Bing beats Google. They offer sharper and higher quality images on the results page.

Since then Google has since caught onto this ingenious function, however, Bing does still maintain the advantage when it comes to filters.

You can also search for different image layouts – tall, wide or square. It offers a huge opportunity for brands or websites to rank based on their images. So optimize your Images to rank better an opportunity to drive traffic.

Final Words on Bing SEO

You should not think Bing only as a younger Brother, It is just in line next and the 2nd Biggest ruler in www (world wide web) or search engine.

Don’t focus only on google you should also focus on Bing to drive more traffic to your website or Blog. However, SEO for Bing is not that different from Google, just a little tweak and you should be fine.

They both adore quality content which is a no-brainer and pretty much everything is the same.

Have you optimized your site with Bing SEO? If not, Why Not?

If so, then How’s working out for you? Let us know in the comment section below.