Why Your Bing SEO Strategy Matters More Than Ever (Thanks to ChatGPT)

The Bing Opportunity Everyone’s Ignoring

Ask any SEO professional about their strategy and you’ll hear detailed plans for Google optimization. Ask about Bing and you’ll get: “We might get some traffic from it, but we don’t actively optimize for Bing.”

This overlooking of Bing would have been reasonable in 2023. In 2025, it’s a massive strategic error.

Here’s why: ChatGPT Search results demonstrate 73% similarity to Bing’s search results. Microsoft’s $14 billion investment in OpenAI wasn’t just financial backing—it created deep technical integration where Bing’s search index directly powers much of ChatGPT’s real-time information retrieval.

With ChatGPT serving 464 million monthly users, Bing suddenly went from “that other search engine” to “the engine powering the world’s most popular AI assistant.”

Yet most businesses still don’t have a Bing optimization strategy.

This creates an extraordinary opportunity: optimize for Bing while competition remains low, and capture AI search visibility your competitors don’t even know exists.

Understanding the Microsoft-OpenAI Integration

The $14 Billion Partnership

In January 2023, Microsoft announced a multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment in OpenAI. But the strategic value wasn’t just the equity stake—it was the technical infrastructure integration:

What Microsoft Gained:

• OpenAI technology powering Bing Chat (now Copilot)
• ChatGPT integration with Microsoft 365
• Azure OpenAI Service for enterprise customers
• Exclusive cloud provider status for OpenAI

What OpenAI Gained:

• Massive compute infrastructure via Azure
• Access to Bing’s search index for real-time data
• Microsoft’s enterprise relationships
• Funding for continued AI research

How ChatGPT Uses Bing

When ChatGPT needs current information beyond its training data, it performs real-time web searches. The source? Bing’s search index.

How it works:

1. User asks: “What are the best CRM options for real estate teams in 2025?”
2. ChatGPT recognizes this requires current product information
3. Performs search query against Bing’s index
4. Retrieves top-ranking pages
5. Extracts and synthesizes information
6. Presents conversational answer with citations

The critical insight: If you don’t rank on Bing, you won’t appear in ChatGPT’s real-time search results—regardless of your Google rankings.

The 73% Similarity Factor

Research analyzing ChatGPT Search results found 73% overlap with Bing’s top results. This isn’t perfect correlation, but it’s strong enough that Bing rankings are the single best predictor of ChatGPT citation probability.

What this means:

• Rank #1 on Bing → High probability of ChatGPT citation
• Rank #1 on Google but not Bing → Lower ChatGPT citation probability
• Rank well on both → Maximum AI visibility

Bing vs. Google: Different Ranking Factors

Bing’s algorithm differs from Google in several ways that matter for AI optimization:

1. Social Signals Carry More Weight

Bing explicitly considers social media engagement signals:

Factors Bing considers:

• Share counts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
• Social profile authority
• Engagement on social posts linking to content
• Social media profile completeness

Google vs. Bing:

• Google: Social signals are indirect (social drives traffic → engagement signals)
• Bing: Social signals are direct ranking factors

Optimization implications:

• Add social sharing buttons to all content
• Promote content on LinkedIn (especially for B2B)
• Build social following on Twitter
• Encourage shares, not just clicks

2. Exact Match Domains Get More Credit

Bing gives more ranking benefit to keyword-rich domains than Google:

Example:

• Domain: BestCRMSoftware.com
• Google: Minor benefit, focuses on content quality
• Bing: More significant benefit for “best CRM software” queries

What this means:

• If you have an exact-match domain, Bing may be easier to rank on
• If you don’t, focus on other factors rather than domain changes

3. Multimedia Content Prioritized

Bing favors pages with diverse content types:

What Bing values:

• High-quality images with proper alt text
• Video content embedded on pages
• Infographics and visual content
• Mixed media rather than text-only

Optimization strategy:

• Add relevant images to every blog post (minimum 2-3)
• Create video versions of popular content
• Use screenshots and diagrams for tutorials
• Implement ImageObject schema markup

4. Page Load Speed Less Critical

While site speed matters, Bing is more forgiving than Google’s Core Web Vitals emphasis:

Priority difference:

• Google: Core Web Vitals are ranking factor
• Bing: Speed matters but threshold is lower

What this means:

• Don’t ignore speed, but it’s not as make-or-break for Bing
• Focus more on content quality and social signals

5. Flash and Older Technologies More Tolerant

Bing handles legacy technologies better than Google (though this rarely matters for modern sites).

Setting Up Bing Webmaster Tools

Most SEO professionals use Google Search Console religiously but have never logged into Bing Webmaster Tools. This is step one.

Initial Setup

1. Create Account

• Visit bing.com/webmasters
• Sign in with Microsoft account
• Add your website

2. Verify Ownership

Three verification methods:

• XML file upload (fastest)
• Meta tag in homepage <head>
• CNAME record in DNS

Recommendation: Use XML file method for quickest verification.

3. Submit Sitemaps

Unlike Google Search Console, submit separate sitemaps for different content types:

• sitemap-blog.xml
• sitemap-products.xml
• sitemap-pages.xml

Why segment sitemaps? Allows monitoring crawl rates by content type and prioritizing important content.

4. Configure Settings

Navigate to Settings:

• Set preferred domain (www vs. non-www)
• Set geographic targeting if applicable
• Enable email notifications for critical issues
• Connect to Google Search Console for easier comparison

Understanding Bing Webmaster Tools Dashboard

Site Explorer:

• Shows pages Bing has indexed
• Reveals crawl errors
• Displays internal link structure

Search Performance:

• Query data (similar to GSC but often less volume)
• Click-through rates
• Impression data
• Position tracking

Crawl Control:

• View crawl stats (Bing crawls less frequently than Google)
• Set crawl rate if needed
• Monitor crawl errors

URL Inspection:

• Check individual URL index status
• Request immediate indexing
• View last crawl date

Monitoring Bing Rankings

Track your Bing rankings separately from Google:

Manual Method:

• Use Bing search with your target keywords
• Use private/incognito mode to avoid personalization
• Track position weekly

Automated Tools:

• Most rank trackers (Ahrefs, SEMrush) support Bing
• Enable Bing tracking in your existing tool
• Set up separate Bing ranking reports

Why track separately: Bing rankings can differ significantly from Google, revealing different optimization opportunities.

IndexNow: Your Unfair Advantage

IndexNow is Microsoft’s instant indexing protocol—and it’s one of the most underutilized advantages in AI search optimization.

What IndexNow Does

Traditional indexing:

1. Publish content
2. Wait for search engine to crawl (could take days or weeks)
3. Content appears in search results

IndexNow indexing:

1. Publish content
2. IndexNow instantly notifies search engines
3. Content indexed within hours (sometimes minutes)
4. Appears in Bing and ChatGPT search almost immediately

Why This Matters for AI Search

ChatGPT pulls real-time information from Bing’s index. With IndexNow:

Without IndexNow:

• Publish article on Monday
• Bing crawls on Thursday
• Available for ChatGPT citations on Friday
• Lag time: 4 days

With IndexNow:

• Publish article on Monday 9 AM
• IndexNow pings Bing at 9:01 AM
• Indexed by Monday 2 PM
• Available for ChatGPT citations immediately
• Lag time: 5 hours

For time-sensitive content or trending topics, this speed advantage is enormous.

How to Implement IndexNow

WordPress (Easiest)

1. Install IndexNow Plugin

• Search for “IndexNow” in WordPress plugin directory
• Install and activate
• API key generated automatically

2. Configuration

• Enable automatic submission on publish/update
• Select which post types to submit
• Choose which search engines to notify (Bing, Seznam, Yandex)

3. Verify

• Publish or update a post
• Check plugin log for successful submission
• Monitor Bing Webmaster Tools for faster indexing

Custom Implementation (Developers)

API Endpoint:

POST https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow

Request Body:

{
  "host": "yoursite.com",
  "key": "your-api-key",
  "keyLocation": "https://yoursite.com/your-api-key.txt",
  "urlList": [
    "https://yoursite.com/new-article",
    "https://yoursite.com/updated-page"
  ]
}

PHP Example:

<?php
function submit_to_indexnow($urls) {
    $api_key = 'your-api-key';
    $host = 'yoursite.com';
    
    $data = [
        'host' => $host,
        'key' => $api_key,
        'urlList' => $urls
    ];
    
    $ch = curl_init('https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow');
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, json_encode($data));
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ['Content-Type: application/json']);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    
    $response = curl_exec($ch);
    curl_close($ch);
    
    return $response;
}

// Usage
submit_to_indexnow(['https://yoursite.com/new-article']);
?>

Shopify

Use IndexNow app from Shopify App Store or implement via custom integration.

Other Platforms

Check for platform-specific plugins or implement via API directly.

IndexNow Best Practices

Do:

• Submit immediately after publishing
• Submit when making significant updates
• Submit multiple URLs in single request (up to 10,000)
• Monitor submission success in logs

Don’t:

• Submit unchanged URLs repeatedly
• Submit more than once per URL per day (unless significant update)
• Submit dynamically generated URLs
• Submit URLs blocked in robots.txt

Monitoring IndexNow Success

Bing Webmaster Tools:

• Check “URL Inspection” for recent submissions
• Monitor “Crawl Control” for increased crawl activity
• Verify pages appear in Site Explorer faster

IndexNow Plugin Logs:

• Review submission success rate
• Identify failed submissions
• Track which URLs were submitted

Bing-Specific Optimization Tactics

Beyond the basics, these tactics specifically improve Bing performance:

1. Optimize for Bing Image Search

Bing Image Search is more popular relative to Bing Web Search than Google Images to Google Web Search:

Image optimization for Bing:

• Descriptive filenames: crm-dashboard-screenshot-2025.jpg not IMG_1234.jpg
• Detailed alt text: “Screenshot of HubSpot CRM dashboard showing deal pipeline view with $2.4M in opportunities”
• Image sitemaps submitted to Bing
• ImageObject schema markup
• High-quality images (Bing prefers 1200px+ width)

2. Leverage Bing Places for Local

If you have physical locations or serve local areas:

Bing Places Optimization:

• Claim listing at bingplaces.com
• Complete 100% of profile
• Upload high-quality photos
• Match NAP exactly to website
• Collect and respond to reviews
• Post regular updates

Why it matters: Bing Places directly feeds into ChatGPT’s local business recommendations.

3. Build Social Profile Strength

Since Bing weights social signals:

Priority social profiles:

• LinkedIn (especially for B2B)
• Twitter/X (for tech and news)
• Facebook (for local businesses)
• YouTube (for video content)

Optimization:

• Complete all profile sections
• Regular posting schedule
• Encourage sharing of your content
• Link back to website from profiles
• Engage with audience

4. Create Bing-Friendly Content

Content that performs well on Bing:

Characteristics:

• Longer-form (1,500-3,000 words)
• Multimedia-rich (images, videos, charts)
• Clear structure (H2, H3 hierarchy)
• Social sharing enabled
• Fresh content (Bing loves recent publication dates)

5. Monitor Bing Keyword Opportunities

Some keywords are less competitive on Bing:

How to find:

• Compare Bing vs. Google rankings in rank tracker
• Identify where you rank better on Bing
• Find keywords where Bing has less competition
• Create content targeting Bing-specific opportunities

The Dual-Rail Strategy: Google + Bing

The optimal approach isn’t Bing-only or Google-only—it’s both:

Resource Allocation

For Most Businesses (80/20 Split):

• 80% effort on Google (still drives majority of traffic)
• 20% effort on Bing (drives AI visibility disproportionately)

For B2B SaaS (70/30 Split):

• Higher AI search usage in B2B
• More research-intensive buying process
• Higher value per conversion justifies increased investment

Monthly Workflow

Weekly:

• Monitor Bing Webmaster Tools for errors
• Check IndexNow submission logs
• Track Bing rankings for target keywords

Monthly:

• Compare Bing vs. Google performance
• Identify Bing-specific opportunities
• Adjust content strategy based on data
• Submit updated sitemap if needed

Quarterly:

• Deep analysis of Bing traffic trends
• Competitive benchmarking on Bing
• Review and adjust resource allocation
• Test ChatGPT citation rates

Common Bing Optimization Mistakes

Mistake 1: Assuming Google Optimization Is Enough

Problem: “If we rank on Google, we’ll rank on Bing”

Reality: Ranking factors differ. Many sites rank well on Google but poorly on Bing.

Fix: Actively optimize for Bing-specific factors (social signals, multimedia content)

Mistake 2: Not Using IndexNow

Problem: Waiting for natural Bing crawls (slow)

Reality: IndexNow provides hours-not-days indexing

Fix: Implement IndexNow plugin or API today

Mistake 3: Ignoring Bing Webmaster Tools Errors

Problem: Critical errors in Bing Webmaster Tools going unnoticed

Reality: Crawl errors prevent indexing, killing AI visibility

Fix: Weekly check of Bing Webmaster Tools dashboard

Mistake 4: No Social Promotion

Problem: Publishing content but never sharing on social

Reality: Social signals matter significantly for Bing

Fix: Build social sharing into content workflow

Mistake 5: Focusing Only on Text

Problem: Text-only blog posts without visual elements

Reality: Bing prioritizes multimedia-rich content

Fix: Add 3-5 images to every post, create video versions when possible

Measuring Bing Success

Track these metrics to evaluate your Bing strategy:

Traffic Metrics

Bing Organic Traffic:

• GA4: Source = bing / Medium = organic
• Month-over-month growth
• Conversion rate vs. Google traffic

ChatGPT Referral Traffic:

• GA4: Source contains “chatgpt” or “openai”
• Landing pages from AI referrals
• Engagement metrics

Ranking Metrics

Bing Keyword Rankings:

• Average position across target keywords
• Keywords in top 3
• Keywords in top 10
• Ranking improvements month-over-month

Comparison Metrics:

• Bing vs. Google ranking correlation
• Keywords where Bing ranks better
• Keywords where Google ranks better

Indexing Metrics

Index Coverage:

• Pages indexed on Bing vs. total pages
• IndexNow submission success rate
• Average time from publish to index

Your Bing Optimization Action Plan

Week 1:

• [ ] Create Bing Webmaster Tools account
• [ ] Verify site ownership
• [ ] Submit XML sitemaps
• [ ] Check for critical errors

Week 2:

• [ ] Implement IndexNow (plugin or API)
• [ ] Test with new/updated content
• [ ] Verify faster indexing

Week 3:

• [ ] Set up Bing ranking tracking
• [ ] Identify Bing vs. Google ranking gaps
• [ ] Add social sharing to all content

Week 4:

• [ ] Claim Bing Places (if applicable)
• [ ] Optimize images for Bing Image Search
• [ ] Create multimedia content plan

Ongoing:

• Weekly Bing Webmaster Tools check
• Monthly Bing performance review
• Quarterly strategy adjustment

The Bottom Line

Bing optimization isn’t about abandoning Google—it’s about capturing an additional, high-value discovery channel while competition remains low.

With ChatGPT’s 464 million monthly users relying on Bing’s index for real-time information, Bing suddenly became the gateway to AI search visibility. The businesses optimizing for Bing now are building compounding advantages in AI citations, brand awareness, and referral traffic.

Most importantly, Bing optimization doesn’t conflict with Google optimization. The two strategies complement each other, and many tactics (quality content, proper structure, technical optimization) benefit both engines.

The question isn’t whether to optimize for Bing—it’s whether you’ll do it while competition is still low, or wait until everyone else figures out the Bing-ChatGPT connection and opportunity disappears.

Key Takeaways:

• ChatGPT search results overlap 73% with Bing.
• Bing ranks pages using different factors, including social signals and multimedia.
• IndexNow helps your pages get indexed in hours instead of days.
• Bing Webmaster Tools is required for proper monitoring and optimization.
• A dual-rail strategy (Google + Bing) gives maximum AI and search visibility.