Let’s talk about a tool that doesn’t get enough love: Bing Webmaster Tools (BWT). You might be thinking, “Why should I care about Bing?” Well, settle in, because I’m about to blow your mind!

The ChatGPT Connection

Did you know that ChatGPT, the AI everyone’s talking about, uses Bing for its search results? That’s right! When you ask ChatGPT a question, it’s pulling information from Bing’s index. This means that if your website is doing well on Bing, it could show up in ChatGPT’s answers. 

In other words, if you’re trying to optimize for AI (AIO Optimization, Generative Engine Optimization, or other new trendy term you want to use) then you should be using BWT.

More Eyes on Your Site

By using Bing Webmaster Tools, you’re not just improving your chances of showing up in Bing searches. You’re also increasing the likelihood of your content being seen by ChatGPT users. This could mean more people finding your website and more traffic coming your way.

SEO with Bing Webmaster Tools

Unlike with Google Search console, you’re not limited to search performance insights like queries your website is showing on the search results pages for and indexing information. With Bing Webmaster Tools, you have access to more options like keyword research, site scan (audit), and more in addition to the search performance data. 

Bing Keyword Research

Bing’s keyword research tool is a goldmine. It shows you what words people are using to find websites like yours on Bing. This tool is different from Google’s because it focuses on Bing users, who might search differently. Use it to find keywords that your competitors might be missing!

Bing Website Checkups

The Site Explorer feature in Bing Webmaster Tools is like a doctor for your website. It looks for any SEO problems and tells you how to fix them. Keeping your site healthy is important for both Bing and AI search engines.

Bing Search Performance Insights

This feature shows you how many people are clicking on your site in Bing search results. It helps you understand what Bing users like and don’t like. You can use this info to make your site better for both regular and AI-powered searches.

Getting Ready for AI Optimization 

To make sure ChatGPT can find your site, you need to help Bing find it first. If you’re a regular here at Be the Page SEO, you’ve probably heard us talk about Generative Engine Optimization a lot. This is where all that comes into play. 

To get started, here are a few quick win tips:

1. Make sure Bing can easily read and understand your content. If you’re putting content in images or blocking AI from crawling your website, you might want to reevaluate those choices to optimize your content for search visibility—regardless of how that content is getting in front of your buyers. 
2. Use clear, simple, conversational language that both humans and AI can understand. Think about how you talk to Siri, or other smart home devices. You don’t say, “Hey Siri, digital marketing.” No, you say, “Hey Siri, what digital marketing agency is near me?” This is where long-tail keywords, voice optimization, and GEO overlap. 
3. Keep an eye on how AI search is changing, and be ready to adjust your strategies. There is no ‘end’ to SEO or digital marketing efforts. Why? Because Google, Bing, and technology in general are constantly progressing. This means that we have to consistently be on our ‘A’ game, ready at a moment’s notice to jump in and play the game with the new rules. 

Starting with Bing Webmaster Tools

Getting started is easy:

1. Go to Bing Webmaster Tools and add your website.
2. Verify that you own the site.
3. Focus on fixing any issues it finds and using the keyword research tool.
4. Make Bing optimization a regular part of your SEO work.

Bing vs Google

As we touched on earlier, there are differences between Bing and Google. Both Bing Webmaster Tools and Google Search Console are great, but:

• Bing has a cool feature called IndexNow that lets you tell Bing right away when you change your site.
• Bing’s Site Explorer gives you a deeper look into your site’s structure.
• Google is better at showing you how your site looks on mobile devices.
• Google works well with other Google tools like Analytics.
• Bing gives you data from more places, like web search, chat responses, news, and videos. 
• Google focuses mostly on regular web searches.

Both tools help you submit sitemaps and check your search performance, but Bing gives more detailed reports on SEO errors.

While Google is still the ‘big guy’ on the internet, you don’t want to ignore Bing Webmaster Tools. It’s got some unique features that can really help your SEO efforts, especially with AI search on the rise. And, the best part, it’s free.