Microsoft Bing Webmaster Tools: Why You Should Use Them

Google is omnipresent in everyday SEO. But Microsoft Bing is playing a growing role, especially in the B2B environment, among Windows and Edge users, and in the context of Microsoft advertising and AI search (co-pilot, ChatGPT integration). With Bing Webmaster Tools, you get deep insights into crawling, indexing, and search performance — with features that Google sometimes doesn't even offer.

Login, verification, and dashboard

Today, access to Microsoft Bing Webmaster Tools is provided exclusively via a Microsoft account. This makes registration standardized and secure. After logging in, you can add as many domains as you like.

For the verification There are three common methods to choose from:

XML file: You upload a small file to your web server, which Bing then retrieves.
Meta tag: You add a special tag to the <head>section of your home page.
DNS record: Particularly useful for large companies with many domains. Here, a CNAME record is set in the DNS, which means that no changes to the web server are necessary.

An important difference to Google: HTTP/HTTPS and WWW/non-WWW variants do not have to be created separately. Bing automatically summarizes them and thus reduces account complexity. You only need to verify subdomains (such as shop.example.com or blog.example.com) separately, as they are technically considered independent units.

Once set up, you'll land on the dashboard, which immediately provides an overall overview:

Performance data: impressions, clicks, CTR, and average position.
Indexing status: How many pages were crawled, how many indexed?
Notifications & recommendations: Bing actively alerts you to technical issues or optimization options, such as indexing errors or missing sitemaps.

The dashboard is therefore not only a control center, but also an early warning system for technical and content-related problems. Compared to the current Google Search Console, it looks tidier for many users and offers a more comprehensive overview on one page — similar to what Google used to do in its “old” Search Console.

Overview of functions and features

The Bing Webmaster Tools cover many core functions of the Google Search Console — but go into more detail in some areas. Especially in complex or international SEO setups, it is worth taking a look at the following features:

Sitemaps & URL Submission
You can store classic XML sitemaps and manually submit individual URLs. This is particularly helpful for new content or relaunches, when rapid indexing is crucial for visibility and revenue. Experience has shown that Bing reacts very quickly to manual submissions — an advantage over Google.
Index Explorer
This feature works like a kind of file browser for your domain. It shows which status codes were found during crawling, which areas are blocked via robots.txt and when a URL was last crawled. Particularly useful for established projects with subdomains or for legacy issues that are hidden in the internal structure. This gives you a clear picture of which parts of your website Bing is actually processing.
SEO Analyzer
The analyzer checks every URL for technical and content factors: from missing alt tags to faulty H1 hierarchies to overlong meta titles. Core Web Vitals and mobile optimization are also taken into account. You get prioritization by severity level, so you can target resources where they have the biggest effect on rankings and user experience.
Keyword Insights
In contrast to Google Search Console, Bing provides up to 16 months of data history. For each URL, you can see which keywords have generated impressions and clicks, including click rate and average position. This is valuable for trend analyses, seasonal topics or to measure the impact of content updates over a longer period of time.
Backlink reports
Bing provides significantly deeper backlink data than Google. You can export up to 20,000 linking URLs for each of your pages — a multiple of the Google limit. In addition, you can see anchor texts, link growth over time, and domain distributions. This allows you not only to assess the status of your link profile, but also to identify specific risks (e.g. unnatural link clusters) or opportunities (e.g. strong brand links).
Safety and certificate check
Bing automatically checks whether your SSL certificate is valid and whether your website has malware or signs of phishing. For companies, this is more than just a technical detail: An expired certificate immediately leads to a loss of trust and can result in massive sales losses. The early warning gives you direct monitoring of your security situation.

What has changed?

Some older features are no longer available in this form:

The option to set a preferred crawl time has been removed.
The disavow tool has been discontinued — Bing relies on its own algorithms to detect harmful links.
Social media links for knowledge panels must now be maintained using schema.org markup; the old “connected pages” feature no longer exists.

New opportunities have been added for this:

JavaScript rendering: Since 2020, Bingbot has been based on Chromium and processes modern frameworks such as React or Angular.
Advanced mobile and performance checks: Mobile First and Core Web Vitals are firmly integrated.
Longer data history: Keyword and performance data can be retrieved for up to 16 months.

Business impact: Why it pays off

Although Bing has a lower market share than Google, it offers significant advantages in certain segments:

B2B & Microsoft ecosystem: Edge, Windows, Office or Copilot users search more frequently via Bing — a relevant channel, especially in a business environment.
AI search: Bing integrates generative AI more than Google. The performance data from Webmaster Tools helps you understand how your content is included in chat and AI-based answers.
Backlink analyses: The extensive export options give you deep insights into your link profile — a basis for strategic risk management.
Long-term competitiveness: Anyone who only relies on Google is wasting potential. With Bing, you gain additional reach, which is often in less competitive markets.

Insight: Bing & AI — an underrated lever

The integration of ChatGPT and Copilot into Bing is massively changing search behavior. Click paths become shorter, answers more direct. The Bing Webmaster Tools give you valuable advice What content is actually included in this new AI-driven search. If you read the data correctly, you can adjust content strategies at an early stage — a competitive advantage that is decisive in dynamic markets.

Conclusion & Takeaway

Microsoft Bing Webmaster Tools are much more than a niche product. They offer deep insights into crawling, indexing, and performance — with features that Google sometimes does not (anymore) provide.

For you as a decision maker, this means expanding your SEO database, securing additional reach in a growing AI search environment and creating clarity about technical and strategic risks.

Takeaway: Don't use Bing Webmaster Tools as a “nice to have,” but as part of your SEO governance. In this way, you make your website visible not only to Google, but also in the Microsoft ecosystem — and secure additional traffic, revenue, and brand trust.

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