SEO For Bing: Why You Should Consider It and Tips for Getting Started

Although not as popular as Google, Bing maintains a considerably large audience that includes many potential clients for your firm. Bing also powers Yahoo, which means that over 51% of Yahoo searchers see results from Bing’s index and ranking algorithm. Search results on both sites are almost identical, so optimizing for Bing works for Yahoo as well.

Firms need to use different proprietary algorithms on Bing to generate results, and they each factor in differently.  Here are a few reasons why integrating methods for Bing into your SEO practices might be good for you and your firm:

Bing Converts Better Than Google

Many marketers have observed that Bing traffic is more likely to convert than Google traffic. According to a Google Analytics report, Bing and Yahoo have a conversion rate of approximately 20%, compared to Google’s 16%. This can be attributed to the fact that users of Bing tend to be older and have more money to spend.

SEO For Bing Is Easier

If you’ve done SEO for Google, you know that it can get pretty tricky. Google’s lists of good and bad practices seems to go on forever. Bing is generally more pro-SEO and encourages its users to build links and optimize anchors. It’s far less strict than Google in that regard.

Less Fierce Competition

Optimizing for Bing is a chance to get away from your competitors and the endless vying for ranking position on the search results. Google is like a watering hole for marketers because it has a large share of traffic. Over at Bing, you will be in competition with fewer businesses and have a higher chance to get the top spot on the search results page.

Tips for getting started with SEO for Bing

1. Get Your Pages Indexed

Bing doesn’t update its index as often as Google, so you will have to wait a while after you submit your site. Take advantage of the Bing Webmaster tools and sign up for a free account. Make sure you’re on the sitemap and that you have the right technical requirements, such as a 301 permanent redirect, fast page load time, and the like.

2. Use Simple, Straightforward Keywords

For Bing, the placement of your most important keywords can make a big difference. You will find that your firm’s pages will rank better in Bing’s SERPs if you use specific keywords in areas  including the domain, URL, meta titles, and meta descriptions. Bing also shows local results relevant to your keywords first before it uses context clues.

3. Flash Media Counts

Unlike Google, web pages that are made with flash have a higher likelihood of ranking well in Bing. It can index flash media pretty well, and all you have to do is to create distinct sitemaps for this type of content to make it easier for the Bingbots.

4. Track Your Click-through Rate And Social Signals

Bing places a lot of importance on social signals relative to your domain’s page ranking. You will need to engage with your audience through tweets, shares, likes, and comments. Search results will show your users’, as well as their friends’, ratings and reviews of your firm.

5. Set Up Backlinks

Bing values high-quality links, but judges their quality a bit differently than Google does. Bing prioritizes domain age as well as specific domain extensions. This means that the more you organic backlinks you earn from established domains, the higher your own domain’s quality becomes. Also, Bing puts emphasis on the number of links you receive, but be careful not to exceed 20 links per month if you’re doing outreach to gather more, it could raise flags with Bing as well as Google.

Don’t be afraid to take the road less traveled and miss out on untapped potential. Try SEO for Bing and prepare for a pleasant surprise.