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Here at Liberty, we talk about Google a lot. As the largest online search provider, in quite some way, it dominates over its competition. Plus, with continual advancements and development from EEAT to AI, Google certainly sets the standards and pace that other providers emulate.
However, there are other search engines out there. Here we take a look at Bing!
Why should I optimise for Bing?
It’s a good question. If Google has such domination why bother wasting your time on Bing? Well, in effect, it comes down to what search algorithm Bing uses – is your backup plan. Imagine a new Google algorithm is released and your site is penalised. It may be removed from search results for a set period, so how are customers going to find your site then?
Since that’s different from how the Bing search engine works, at least with a good position on Bing you can guarantee a small amount of traffic to your site while your Google issues are figured out. This may not be the same amount as you’re used to, but something is certainly better than nothing.
Bing vs. Google SEO tactics
These websites may both be search engines, but they do differ slightly when it comes to how they operate. Therefore, you must optimise your site differently for each. To do this, we suggest you look at the following things:
Relevancy
You may find yourself asking “how does Bing decide what results to show?” Well, a lot of this comes down to relevancy. Bing will scan all documents for the frequency of root words (for example, ‘running’ will be shortened to ‘run’) and will cut out the irrelevant words, like conjunctives. These frequencies are then given a hash value or an ID number.
So, when a term is typed into the search bar, the roots of the words are found, a hash value is calculated and found in a frequency table. The outcomes that contain this result are called essential pages and only the highest scoring pages will be chosen. These pages then go through a second process…
Click distance
Bing’s search algorithm works by combining a page’s relevancy along with its click distance – this is how many clicks of the mouse it takes to find the content. This can be analysed using URL depth property; the longer URLs are considered less important due to their distance from the homepage.
So if a URL has a URL depth of four or more, i.e. four backslashes or more, Bing will not rank it, even if it is linked to from the homepage.
Relevancy and click distance are important factors, but Bing will also take into account a user’s search history when displaying search results.
The way Bing works is relatively simple in comparison to Google. It has been rumoured that Google uses over 200 ranking factors to determine what should appear on the first SERP, ranging from proven factors to the more speculated, but keywords, quality content and good backlinks remain essential.
Social media
Bing has got one up on Google when it comes to its approach to social media. Bing integrates social media results into its searches, so if a friend on Facebook has endorsed a company you will see it!
SEO copywriting
If you have been optimising your site for Google, then you will know the importance of keywords. Although Bing uses these, Google is much cleverer about using them.
Whereas Bing’s algorithm words by relying on the frequency of words or keywords in the meta tags and page titles, Google looks at the page as a whole, and is more likely to mark the page as spam if a word is overused. It’s a delicate balance to optimise for both search engines.
How does Bing work with AI?
In the last few years, AI has redefined the game when it comes to how search engines like Bing work. Instead of sticking strictly to matching keywords exactly, the focus has now shifted towards understanding the nuances of search intent.
The way Bing’s search algorithm works, for example, utilises machine learning, upping the ante from simply interpreting user queries to learning their online behaviour, then matching those with recent web interactions and broader search trends to provide a tailored experience. The end result – search results which get better in real time as the algorithm picks up on more contextual information.
An added benefit of Bing AI engine’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities is the fact that now the algorithm has mastered parsing complex questions which would have stumped it in the past, making the whole search process more conversational.
As AI technology keeps developing, the way Bing search engine works will continue to evolve, offering users personalised results which provide in-depth insights and links to related topics alongside answers to their questions.
How does Bing search engine work with ChatGPT?
Taking traditional search dynamics to the next level, Bing’s ChatGPT integration, called Copilot, gives users the option to have real-time conversations with the AI by combining its classic search results with OpenAI’s GPT models.
This way, Prometheus can tackle complex topic research in a way that feels both natural and well articulated, thanks to the recommendations and in-depth insights ChatGPT offers.
So will you be looking at Bing?
Now you know a little more about how Bing search engines works, will you be optimising your site to appear on its results pages?
If you’d like to learn more about search engines such Bing, Duckduckgo SEO or Google, get in touch with our SEO team.
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