While most marketers focus primarily on Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools often goes underused. However, it offers a rich set of SEO and website management features that every digital marketing expert should tap into—especially if you want to maximize your visibility across all major search engines.
Let’s explore some of the core features of Bing Webmaster Tools that make it a must-have in your digital marketing toolbox:
1. Site Scan: Your SEO Health Check
Bing’s Site Scan is a powerful feature that allows you to automatically crawl your website for SEO issues. It identifies:
- Errors (high-severity problems that can prevent indexing)
- Warnings (issues that may impact visibility or ranking)
- SEO recommendations
The Site Scan tool helps you understand what’s holding your site back in terms of technical SEO, such as:
- Broken internal links
- Missing meta tags
- Slow-loading pages
- HTTPS issues
- And more
This makes it an excellent auditing tool, especially during website launches or periodic SEO health checks.
2. Keyword Research Tool
Unlike other tools that require separate accounts or subscriptions, Bing includes a robust keyword research feature built right into its platform. With this, you can:
- Discover related search terms
- Identify question-based keywords
- Analyze newly discovered keywords
- Access monthly search volume data (specific to Bing)
This helps marketers tailor content strategies to user queries on Bing, which is especially useful if you’re targeting demographics that prefer Microsoft Edge, Windows Search, or Cortana.
3. Recommendations: Actionable SEO Alerts
Bing provides detailed recommendations for site improvements, categorized by:
- High severity – Critical fixes needed
- Moderate severity – Should be fixed soon
- Low severity – Minor issues, but good to resolve
These recommendations are clearly documented, making it easier for SEOs, developers, or marketers to take swift action.
4. Site Explorer: Deep Dive into Your URL Performance
The Site Explorer is arguably one of the most feature-rich tools in Bing Webmaster. It gives you URL-level visibility with filters such as:
- Indexed URLs
- URLs with crawl issues (404, 410)
- Server errors (403, 5xx)
- Blocked by robots.txt
- NOINDEX-tagged URLs
- Redirecting URLs
- Canonical source URLs
- Guideline violations or spammy content
- Not yet crawled URLs
- URLs flagged for malware or other risks
Bonus: You can even request indexing for uncrawled URLs directly from this section—perfect for new content launches or refreshed pages.
Technical Metrics: Go Beyond Clicks
Bing gives you access to detailed technical data, such as:
- Clicks and impressions for individual pages or subfolders
- Total number of backlinks to a URL or directory
- Crawl history and errors for specific pages
- Total document size (great for performance optimization)
This granular insight helps marketers fine-tune performance at the page level, making it easier to track ROI and organic growth.
5. Backlinks Tool + Competitor Insights
One standout feature in Bing is the Backlinks tool, where you can:
- View and export your entire backlink profile
- Discover which domains are linking to specific pages
- Use the Add site to compare to competitor backlinks
Just enter a competitor’s domain to benchmark your performance against theirs, uncover new link-building opportunities, and strategize your outreach accordingly.
Final Thoughts
As a digital marketing expert, you can’t afford to overlook Bing—even if Google dominates the landscape. Bing Webmaster Tools provides a suite of free, advanced capabilities that empower you to audit site health, uncover keyword opportunities, and monitor performance at the page level. By integrating insights from both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, you’ll gain a more holistic view of your SEO footprint, uncover hidden growth opportunities, and stay ahead of the competition. Embrace these tools, and watch your organic visibility—and your impact as a digital marketing expert—reach new heights.