Nozak Consulting

Bing vs. Google SEO

Scott Emigh

Bing vs. Google SEO: With SEO, there is no magic formula to making your website instantly rank higher on every search engine. Search engines each have different algorithms to determine how your website should be ranked in the search results, so you will need to adapt different strategies for different search engines. For example, Google and Bing require slightly different strategies to get the most out of your SEO. You need to understand how these search engines are different, and then you can begin working on your SEO strategy. 

We will cover the following topics in Bing vs. Google SEO:

Is Bing Still Used?

It is true, Google is still far and away the most used search engine, but that doesn’t mean you should discount Bing. One factor to consider is different demographics. People with white collar professions tend towards using Google, while Bing, on the other hand, has a largely blue collar user base.

Furthermore, people above the age of 35 are usually the ones to use Bing regularly, while people below 35 prefer Google. Bing’s users also make an average of $100,000 per year and have children. Finally, while Google’s audience is worldwide, Bing’s is located largely in the United States.

This is why a different Bing SEO strategy is important. You don’t want to neglect a potential market you might not be reaching as much through Google. It will prevent you from losing organic traffic as easily, too, whenever one of the two alter their search engine algorithms. Since you should still have a steady stream of traffic from one search engine, you will have more of a buffer while you adjust your SEO strategy for the other search engine. But, even though the audiences are different, the current belief is that if you optimize for Google, in essence, you are optimizing for Bing.

There are still additional things you must do, like create a Bing Business page, similar to Google, and use the additional resources provided by Bing Webmaster tools.

What is the Difference Between Bing and Google SEO?

There are some slight differences when it comes to how Google reads keywords compared to how Bing does. While Google examines the keyword context as well as the keywords themselves, Bing focuses more on the precise keyword(s). 

The next thing to consider is the impact of multimedia. Bing rewards websites using multimedia, such as videos and photos, more than Google does.

Furthermore, Bing can interpret websites using flash better than Google can.

The greatest difference, however, is the fact that Bing puts a larger emphasis on social media than Google. A website with strong social signals majorly affects a website’s ranking in Bing. The more likes, shares, recommendations, etc. your website has on a social media platform, the better. 

What Does Bing and Google Have in Common for SEO Strategies?

Despite the differences between these two, there are still a number of things Bing and Google have in common in regards to SEO.

High quality backlinks are one thing you’ll need to consider for both Google SEO and Bing SEO. While Bing does slightly favor quality over quantity compared to Google, both will require good quality backlinks. You will also need geo-specific keywords in your content since both Google and Bing take location into consideration for the search results.

For example, if you have a Tulsa business, you’ll want to include keywords about Tulsa, if you have a Sand Springs business you’ll need to include keywords related to Sand Springs, et cetera.

Bing SEO Tips

Your Bing SEO strategy will require some adjustment from your Google SEO strategy, but neither will interfere with the other. Indeed, optimizing it for both Google and Bing is absolutely possible. Better integration of videos, audio content, and videos will help increase your rankings in Bing.

Furthermore, you should look into how you handle social media since Bing factors it into your search engine rank. See if you can improve your social media presence, and gain more likes, shares, and reviews. If you can, integrate it into your website. When you do this, however, you want to make sure it doesn’t cause your webpages to load too slowly.