Bing

What Bing is

Bing is Microsoft's search engine. It powers Bing.com, search in parts of Windows and Microsoft Edge, and results in several other services and assistants. Bing has its own crawler, Bingbot, and its own free Bing Webmaster Tools, similar to Google's Search Console.

What it looks like

An accountancy firm serving local companies sets up Bing Webmaster Tools and Bing Places in an afternoon, importing its existing Google data. A small but steady stream of enquiries starts coming from Bing users, many of them office staff searching from work machines.

What it means for your clicks

Google sends most UK search traffic, but Bing can still bring useful visits, especially from people using default browser settings on work computers. The basics are the same: a crawlable site, good content and accurate business listings. Bing Places is Bing's equivalent of Google Business Profile for local businesses.

Bing results also feed into other places people search, including some AI assistants and browser features, so accurate Bing listings can matter beyond Bing.com itself. The setup takes little time once Google is sorted.

How to see where you appear

Look at your analytics to see how much traffic Bing currently sends. Set up Bing Webmaster Tools, which can import your sites from Google Search Console, and submit your sitemap. Claim your business on Bing Places and check the details match your Google listing.

Wrong assumptions

• Ignoring Bing entirely because Google is bigger.
• Letting Bing Places details go out of date.
• Blocking Bingbot by accident in robots.txt or firewall rules.
• Assuming every Google feature works the same way on Bing.

Related search results terms

• Yandex: A major search engine in some markets; less central for UK SEO.
• IndexNow: Protocol to notify participating engines of URL changes (not Google).
• Google Search Console: Google's free property for coverage, queries and enhancements.