When it comes to search engine optimization, most people automatically think about Google. But how do you do SEO for the Yahoo! Bing Network? We will outline the relevance of Yahoo! and Bing and provide an overview of the tools and SEO factors for these search engines.
Relevance of Bing
It depends on your geographic targeting whether Yahoo! and Bing are relevant for you or not. The Yahoo! search engine results are provided by Bing – thus if you optimize your website for Bing, you will also be visible in Yahoo!.
- Worldwide: Globally, Yahoo! and Bing have a market share of about 6.5%, whereas the market share of Google is over 90%.
- Switzerland: In Switzerland you only need to optimize your website for Google. Here Google has a market share of nearly 95%, compared to 4% for Yahoo! and Bing.
- USA: For the US you have to optimize your website for Bing. The US market share of the Yahoo! Bing network is larger than 18%. Google has a market share of just under 80% in the US.
SEO Tools for Bing
Bing provides tools for search engine optimization similar to Google’s tools:
- Bing Webmaster Tools: Similar to the Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools), Bing Webmaster Tools provides useful features for search engine optimization like data about the sitemap, a “Search Keywords” report (similar to the old Search Queries report in Google Webmaster Tools or “Fetch as Bingbot” (similar to the “Fetch as Google” functionality in the Google Search Console).
- Keyword Tool: In order to find the suitable keywords for Bing, you can use the Bing Keyword Research tool. It is integrated into Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Bing Places for Business: Analogous to Google My Business, Bing has the “Bing Places for Business” portal. You should use it to optimize your presence in Bing Search and in Bing Maps.
SEO for Bing
The SEO ranking factors for Bing are similar to the Google ranking factors.
However, there are some important differences to be aware of:
- Keywords: Google has a better ability to understand synonyms and the context of a keyword than Bing. As a result it is more important for Bing to use the exact keywords.
- Authority: For Bing domain age is an important factor and Bing prefers .edu and .gov top level domains. Google, on the other hand, focuses more on the quality of the backlinks in order to determine the authority of a domain.
- Mobile Algorithm: Google introduced the mobile-friendly algorithm on April 21st. Bing will follow Google’s lead and launch its own mobile update. At the moment it is unclear when it will be introduced.
- App Indexing: Google already launched the indexing of deep links for Android apps in June 2014 and has now also introduced app indexing support for iOS. Bing is currently working on its own index for mobile app content. In addition to iOS and Android, Bing also supports app indexing for Windows 10 apps.
When optimizing your website for Bing, keep these differences in mind and use the Bing SEO tools. For a comprehensive search engine optimization, follow our SEO guide 2015. The Bing Webmaster Guidelines provide useful information as well.
