🤔 Why This Matters

Bing powers search on Microsoft Edge, Cortana, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo — collectively ~30% of global desktop search traffic. Most Kerala digital marketers only set up Google Search Console and leave this traffic on the table. For GCC-based clients especially, Bing Webmaster Tools is essential since Edge is the default browser on Windows in the Gulf.

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Free Template Included

Use this alongside the SOP steps

Download .xlsx

SEO Audit Worksheet — Unlearn Edition

34-point checklist across On-Page, Technical & Off-Page. Auto-scoring dashboard, dropdown statuses, and action items table.

Reshma

SEO & GEO Manager, Unlearn Academy

Mentor Insight

“Bing Webmaster Tools takes less than 2 hours to set up but most agencies in Kerala never bother. When we audited one of our GCC-focused client sites, we found 0 Bing presence despite 18 months of SEO work — purely because nobody had set it up. After setup and sitemap submission, Bing started sending organic traffic within 3 weeks. For clients targeting the UAE and Saudi markets specifically, Bing traffic converts better than Google because the audience tends to be on Windows devices with Edge as the default browser.”

Result: 0 → 340 monthly Bing organic clicks within 6 weeks for a GCC-focused client.

⚠️ Before You Start

Google Search Console already set up and verified for the site (needed for the fast import method)

Admin access to WordPress dashboard

Access to the domain's DNS settings (as backup verification method)

Know your site's canonical URL — the preferred version (e.g. https://yourdomain.com or https://www.yourdomain.com)

Phase 1 — Pre-Check Your Site

Identify your canonical URL

Before setting up Bing, confirm which version of your URL is the canonical (main) version. Open your browser and test all four versions: • https://yourdomain.com • https://www.yourdomain.com • http://yourdomain.com • http://www.yourdomain.com Whichever URL the others redirect to — that is your canonical URL. Note it down exactly including the protocol (https://) and whether it includes 'www' or not. Example: https://unlearnacademy.in (no www, https)

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Note: Canonical URL = the version of your site you want search engines to treat as the 'real' one. Using the wrong version in Bing Webmaster Tools will cause a mismatch and break verification.

Verify your sitemap exists

Try these URLs in your browser — one should load XML content: • https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml (WordPress 5.5+ default) • https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml (Yoast SEO / RankMath) • https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml (older setups) You should see XML starting with <?xml and a list of your pages. If you see a 404, your sitemap is not generated — install Yoast SEO or RankMath and enable the sitemap from their settings.

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Pro tip: In Yoast SEO: Go to Yoast → General → Features → XML Sitemaps → On. Your sitemap URL will be shown there.

Yoast SEO Plugin RankMath Plugin

Check your robots.txt

Open https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt in your browser. You should see lines like: User-agent: * Disallow: Check that there is NO line like: Disallow: / (This would block all search engines from crawling your site) Also check there is no rule blocking Bingbot specifically: User-agent: Bingbot Disallow: / If you see blocking rules, fix them in WordPress → Yoast SEO → Tools → File Editor, or contact your developer.

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Warning: A 'Disallow: /' in robots.txt will prevent Bing (and Google) from indexing your entire site. This is one of the most common reasons a site doesn't appear in search results.

Phase 2 — Set Up Bing Webmaster Tools

Import from Google Search Console (fastest method)

Go to Bing Webmaster Tools → Click 'Import' → Click 'Continue'. Authorise access to your Google Account that has Search Console set up. Select the GSC property that matches your canonical URL exactly — e.g. if your canonical is https://yourdomain.com, select that exact property (not the www version). Click 'Import' → Click 'Done'. Bing will now verify ownership automatically using your existing GSC verification. This takes up to 48 hours to reflect.

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Note: Property must match exactly. If GSC has https://www.yourdomain.com but your canonical is https://yourdomain.com, select the correct one or add the right property in GSC first.

Bing Webmaster Tools Google Search Console

Phase 3 — Submit Sitemap

Submit your sitemap to Bing

In Bing Webmaster Tools, click 'Sitemaps' in the left navigation → Click 'Submit sitemap'. Paste the full sitemap URL: • https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml OR • https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml Click 'Submit'. Status should show 'Success' or 'Pending'. If you see an error, double-check the sitemap URL in your browser first — it must load without a 404. Discovered URLs count may take up to 24 hours to populate — this is normal.

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Pro tip: Submit the sitemap_index.xml if your site has multiple sitemaps (posts, pages, products etc.) — Bing will then crawl all child sitemaps automatically.

Phase 4 — Health Checks & Configuration

Run URL Inspection on key pages

In Bing Webmaster Tools, click 'URL Inspection' in the left menu. Paste your homepage URL → Click the inspect button. Check: • Last crawl date — should be recent if site was previously live • Index status — 'Indexed' or 'Crawled' • Any detected issues — fix these if shown Repeat for 2–3 key pages: your main service/course page, About page, and Contact page.

Set up Site Scan with email alerts

Click 'Site Scan' in the left menu → 'Start new scan'. Enter: • Scan name: yourdomain.com — Initial Scan • Starting URL: your homepage • Submit 3–5 important page URLs manually Under 'Communication': tick the checkbox to receive email notifications for crawl errors and site issues. Click 'Start Scan'. This runs a full crawl and will email you if Bing finds any broken links, missing meta tags, or blocked pages.

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Note: Add your most important pages: homepage, main course/service pages, About, and Contact. This helps Bing prioritise crawling these pages first.

Configure Crawl Control settings

Go to Configuration → Crawl Control. Ensure both dropdowns are set to: • 'System default' • 'Default' Click 'Save changes'. This tells Bing to crawl your site at its standard rate. Only change this if your server is struggling under crawl load — which is rare for small/medium sites.

Test your robots.txt in Bing's tester

Go to Tools & Enhancements → Robots.txt Tester. Enter a key URL from your site (e.g. your homepage or a course page). Select 'Bingbot' as the user-agent. Click 'Test'. The result should show no blocking directive. If it shows the URL is blocked, go back and fix your robots.txt file.

Bing Robots.txt Tester

Phase 5 — 48 Hours Later: QA Check

✅ 48-hour QA checklist — do this after waiting

Open Sitemaps → Confirm 'Discovered URLs' count is greater than 0

Check for any sitemap errors — fix and resubmit if needed

Open URL Inspection → Inspect homepage → Status shows 'Crawled' or 'Indexed'

Inspect 1–2 other key pages — confirm crawl status

Open Search Performance → Confirm data has started populating (may show 0 initially — normal)

Check email inbox for any site scan notifications from Bing

✓

SOP Complete

You've completed all steps. Document your before/after results and add this to your portfolio as a case study.

Quick Reference

🧐 Where

Bing Webmaster Tools (bing.com/webmasters), your WordPress Admin, and your web browser.

🗓 When

When launching a new website, onboarding a new client, or auditing an existing site's search presence.

👤 Who

SEO executive, digital marketing manager, or web developer managing client websites.

Want to learn this live?

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Download Template

.xlsx — Free

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How to Set Up, Verify, and Optimise Bing Webmaster Tools on a WordPress Site