Bing SEO vs. Google SEO: Which is Better?

Bing and Google have the 2 highest usage rates amongst search engines in the world. Google currently dominates the search engine market share by owning a 92.9% share of the market, whilst Bing owns 3.03%. These search engines do have some similarities, however at their core they have different algorithms and ranking factors which impact the search engine results pages (SERP).

It is also important to note that advancements in AI technology have allowed both Bing and Google to look at how we use search engines now and into the future. Comparing Bing SEO vs Google SEO can help you understand how you can best optimise your website for both search engines.

Key Differences between Bing SEO and Google SEO

1. Ranking Factors: Bing gives more weight to social signals, building citations, and backlinks, while Google puts a higher emphasis on content quality and relevance to the search query. Bing’s ranking algorithm prefers content to have backlinks that are more related to that topic’s niche and more social signals from the rest of the web. This is just a very minor difference between the two, but overall creating quality content is still the most important part of your SEO strategy. 
2. Keyword Research: The keyword research process for Bing SEO and Google SEO is similar, but there are some differences in terms of the keywords that rank higher on one search engine. Bing tends to rank more specific and long-tail keywords better, while Google tends to rank more broad and generic keywords higher.
3. Local SEO: Bing places a strong emphasis on local SEO, with the closest local businesses appearing more prominently in its search results. On the other hand, Google values local SEO very highly, but uses a slightly different algorithm. This is because Bing rates location as the most important feature of search results, whereas Google puts more emphasis on other factors such as Google reviews and keyword relevance.

Similarities between Bing SEO and Google SEO

1. Creating High-Quality Content: Producing high-quality content is the best way to rank, no matter the search engine. Bing and Google both strongly favour good content, and penalise low-quality and spammy content with worse search engine rankings. Therefore, if you create highly relevant and engaging content, you’ll be rewarded with higher ranking results across both Bing and Google.
2. Mobile-Friendliness: Having a website optimised for mobile can enable your site to appear higher in search results on mobile devices. This is because more people now use mobile devices to access search engines. Both Bing and Google factor in mobile-friendliness when ranking websites, so if your site isn’t optimised for mobile you may experience a drop in rankings on both search engines.
3. Website Speed: Optimising website speed is essential for improving your search engine rankings. A slow-loading website may receive lower rankings from both, so it’s important to ensure your site loads quickly and efficiently on all device types, not just mobile.
4. Relevance and User Experience: To optimise your website’s search engine performance, it’s important to provide a positive user experience and create relevant content. Relevance to the keyword and user experience of your site are prominent ranking factors on Bing and Google. When producing their search results, any sites that don’t meet these standards will not rank as high in SERPs.

Tips for Optimising your Website for Bing and Google

1. Separate Keyword Research: Performing keyword research is essential to optimising your website on both Bing and Google. Keyword research processes will help you identify the keywords that are most relevant to your content and desired audience. You can then create a content plan to ensure you can incorporate these keywords into your content and meta tags. However, it is vital to use a keyword research tool that can separate results for Bing and Google to get more specific results.
2. Focus on Creating Quality Content: Creating valuable and high-quality content in-line with your target keywords and audience is vital. This will ensure you can improve your search engine rankings on Bing and Google, but only if your content is relevant to the keyword and is engaging.
3. Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly: Ensure your website is optimised for mobile devices and has a responsive design. This is vital if you want to achieve good search engine rankings on both Bing and Google.
4. Improve Website Speed: To increase your website’s speed, try compressing images, limiting the amount of plugins, and having a responsive website. This is essential for improving your search engine rankings on both Google and Bing.
5. Build a Strong Backlink Profile: Creating high-quality backlinks from reliable websites is essential for improving your search engine rankings. Acquiring quality backlinks can have a better effect on your site than acquiring the most amount of spammy links possible. Focus solely on building a backlink profile with high-quality backlinks from trustworthy sources.
6. Utilise Social Media: Bing and Google both consider social signals as a ranking factor, with a stronger signal coming from Bing. Having a solid social media presence can help you improve your search engine rankings. Utilising social media to promote your content and engage with your target audience is a great way to improve your site’s social signals.

Future Plans with AI: SEO for Bing and Google

Bing Integrated ChatGPT: Bing’s ChatGPT integration into its search engine was announced on February 8th, 2023 and aims to change the way people use search engines with AI. Microsoft has shared the following chat queries as a test so you can see how the new AI powered search engine is going to work when fully released:

• “I need to throw a dinner party for 6 people who are vegetarian. Can you suggest a 3-course menu with a chocolate dessert?“
• “I am planning a trip for our anniversary in September. What are some places we can go that are within a 3 hour flight from London Heathrow?“
• “Arts and crafts ideas, with instructions for a toddler using only cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, paper and string“
• “Plan me a workout for my arms and abs with no situps and no gym equipment. It should only take 30 minutes“

Bing (and Microsoft) are ahead of the AI search game and aim to offer users a top of the line search experience. Their new search engine remark begins with ‘Ask me anything’ which implies it can help answer and solve any questions with traditional search results or AI generated results. SEO for Bing is evolving because users will attempt to rank their content for search results and AI generated query results.

Google Bard: Bard is Google’s AI solution to Bing’s ChatGPT integration. Bard was announced by Google on February 7th, 2023 (one day before Bing’s SEO solution). Generative AI can help answer your questions in a seamless way. The integration will be added to Google search in time and will act as a way to give users answers to questions using generative AI output. As is the case with Bing’s new search functionality, SEO on Google will develop into a game to rank for normal search results in addition to AI outputs and results.

Optimising SEO for Bing and Google Can Boost Your Online Visibility

There are many differences between Bing SEO and Google SEO, but many factors do remain universal such as website speed and mobile-friendliness. By focusing on creating a high-quality and user-friendly website, you can optimise for both search engines effectively and still reach a wider audience across Bing and Google.