How Do I Get My Business Website to Rank High on Bing?
When we mention SEO, the search engine that immediately comes to mind is Google. And rightly so. If you can make Google happy, other search engines would follow suit and rank you high as well. However, most business owners ignore Bing Search, the second most popular search engine.
As your Cheshire SEO agency, we highly recommend optimising your site for Bing. With most of your competition focusing on Google, you have lower competition on Bing. What’s more, Bing has a pretty neat market share 11.06%. And, the Bing-Yahoo network has an exclusive audience in pretty much all verticals. What’s more, Bing traffic seems to have a lower bounce rate too.
In the light of the fact that Bing is a lot more open when it comes to its ranking factors, ranking for Bing is a much breezier job. Now that you know about the huge advantages of ranking well in Bing, let’s look at some tips for Bing SEO. Of course, we totally recommend hiring a Cheshire SEO agency to optimise your website for Bing search.
Build Backlinks
Backlinks play a crucial role in ranking on the top of Google SERPs. The same goes true for Bing too. However, there’s no conclusive evidence about the importance of backlinks in Bing.
A study by Search Metrics of 300,000 websites throws light on some interesting facts:
The number of links pointing to a site has a direct correlation of 0.29 to its ranking.
The anchor text for more than 50% of the links pointing to a website that ranks in the top 30 results contains the keywords. This is around 10% higher than Google.
Two percent of the links to websites ranking below the top 30 results on Bing contain a stop word. In case of Google, this figure is 10%.
For Google, backlinks from authority websites will work.
However, Bing needs you to expand your link profile with exact match anchor text and do-follow links. So, on Bing, having a high number of backlinks pointing to your site does the trick.
Having said that, it is important to stay away from paid backlinks, reciprocal links, and links from hacked websites. Just like with Google, these will do more harm than good for your search rankings in Bing. If you come across spammy backlinks, disavow them at the earliest.
Optimise for On-Page SEO Factors
While Google’ algorithm is highly evolved, Bing still gives importance to ranking signals that worked years ago. Let’s look at some of the on-page factors that matter for Bing SEO.
Exact Match Domain Name – On Bing, exact match domain is a critical aspect for a good ranking. So if you are building a new website for your business, consider buying an exact match domain name. For instance, if your target keyword is Cheshire SEO, pick a domain that has this exact keyword. However, if you already have a domain name, buying a new domain just for Bing/Yahoo won’t make much sense.
Exact Match in H1 & H2 Tags and Meta Description – Optimising your Heading 1 and Heading 2 will go a long way in boosting your Bing rankings. Exact match is very, very important for Bing, unlike Google where semantics and context play a critical role. However, it pays to incorporate keywords in a natural manner in your content where possible. Be sure to also toss in your keywords in the alt tag as well as your meta descriptions.
High Quality Content – Bing wants to present its users with websites that address their queries with engaging and high-value content. According to Bing, there are 3 pillars of good quality content. First, mention the author’s name clearly and mention the source of the information. Second, provide detailed information in reply to the user’s query. And finally, present the content neatly.
Get Socially Savvy
Social media is an important signal in Bing’s algorithm. In fact, Bing has made it official that they look at social shares to determine the popularity of a page. If the content you write goes viral, Bing considers it a good sign. Over time, your social influence can have a huge bearing on your SERPs on Bing.
A Search Metrics study proves this. The study has found a high correlation between high rankings and social signals. However, Bing wants to ensure that shady techniques are not used to gain social media leverage. Be sure to avoid paying for followers or generating fake followers.
Use Bing Webmaster Tools
Be sure to register with and set up your site in the Bing webmaster tools.
It is a wonderful way to identify the keywords that are doing well, the links pointing to your site as well as any links that you may have to disavow, among other things.
So go ahead and register your site today. In fact, you could submit your site’s sitemap and even subscribe to receive alerts. You will have to verify your site by copying a meta tag to your site or by placing an XML file on your hosting server or by adding a CNAME to the DNS record.
Once you have verified your site, you will be able to see a dashboard that will present all the important information about how Bing is seeing your site.
In Conclusion
When it comes to optimising your website for Bing, it’s pretty much similar to Google. Both Google and Bing give preference to high quality content. However, there are some differences that call for close attention when it comes to Bing SEO.
We have discussed those aspects in detail in this article. We hope that you find these tips useful. Now that you know a great deal about Bing SEO, it’s time to implement these strategies. Need help optimising your website for Bing SEO? Blue Whale Media can help. We are a Cheshire SEO with years of experience and a proven track record. We have helped several small and medium Cheshire businesses in optimising their websites for Bing. Get in touch with us today to discuss your SEO strategy.
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