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Bing Webmaster Tools: a step-by-step guide

Most people think of Google when they think of search. But a lot of searches never touch Google:

  • Bing, the search engine built into Windows and the Microsoft Edge browser.
  • Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and Ecosia, which show results that come from Bing.
  • Microsoft Copilot, the AI assistant in Windows, Edge and Office, which answers from Bing.
  • ChatGPT search, which relies heavily on Bing's results when it looks things up on the web.

Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft's free service for website owners (it is Bing's version of Google Search Console). Once your site is in it and connected to SEOcondo:

  • Bing is told about every new article the moment it is published, so it shows up in days, not weeks.
  • You can see how many people find you on Bing, which searches they typed, and which pages they landed on.
  • You can see which websites link to yours, and any problems Bing had reading your pages.
  • Clara reads all of this and includes Bing in her weekly plan.

It is free, it needs no technical knowledge, and it takes about 10 minutes. You do it once per website.

You will need
  • The Google account you use for Search Console. If you connected Google in SEOcondo, it is that one. This lets Bing copy your site from Google in one click, with nothing to verify.
  • A Microsoft, Google or Facebook account to sign in to Bing. Using the same Google account as above is the simplest.
  • A computer is easier than a phone for this. Every step also works on a phone, but the pages are small.

Microsoft changes its screens from time to time. If a button has a slightly different name, look for the closest match: the steps stay the same.

The short version (if you are comfortable with websites):

  1. Sign in at bing.com/webmasters and choose Import from Google Search Console.
  2. Open Settings → API access → API Key and click Generate.
  3. In SEOcondo open Visible everywhere, paste the key in Bing API key, click Connect Bing.
  4. Optional, for instant indexing: download one small file from SEOcondo and put it on your website (Step 7).

The rest of this page explains each of these in detail.

Step 1: Open Bing Webmaster Tools and sign in​

  1. Open a new browser tab and go to www.bing.com/webmasters.

  2. Click Sign in (or Get started).

  3. Bing asks which account to use. You will see three choices:

    • Microsoft (an Outlook, Hotmail or Live address)
    • Google
    • Facebook

    Choose Google and pick the Google account you use for Search Console. This is the easiest path: Bing can then see your Search Console sites in the next step.

    Only have a Microsoft account?

    That is fine. Sign in with it. In Step 2 Bing will ask you to sign in to Google separately, just to read your Search Console sites.

  4. If Bing asks you to accept its terms or to fill in your name and country, do so and click Continue or Agree.

You are now on the Welcome page. It offers two ways to add your website. Go to Step 2.

Already used Bing Webmaster Tools before?

If you land on a dashboard with your site already listed, you can skip to Step 4. If your site is listed but with a red "not verified" label, see Step 3.

Step 2: Add your site by importing it from Google (recommended)​

This copies your website, its verification and its sitemaps from Google Search Console, so you do not have to prove you own the site a second time.

  1. On the Welcome page, find the box Import your sites from GSC (GSC means Google Search Console) and click Import.
  2. Bing explains what it will copy. Click Continue.
  3. A Google window opens. Choose the Google account that has your website in Search Console.
    • Not sure which one? It is the account you chose when you clicked Connect Google in SEOcondo.
  4. Google shows what Bing is asking for: permission to view your Search Console data. Click Allow (or Continue). This only lets Bing read the list of sites and sitemaps. Bing cannot change anything in your Google account.
  5. You come back to Bing with a list of your Search Console websites, each with a tick box.
    • Tick your website (the same address you added to SEOcondo). You can tick others too if you own several sites.
    • Leave the sitemap options ticked: Bing will read the same sitemaps as Google.
  6. Click Import.
  7. Bing shows a confirmation such as "Site(s) imported successfully". Your site now appears on the Bing dashboard.

That's it for adding the site. It is already verified because Google confirmed you own it. Go to Step 4.

"No sites found" or your site is missing from the list

This means the Google account you picked does not have your site in Search Console.

  • Click your profile picture in Bing (top right), sign out, and start Step 2 again choosing a different Google account.
  • If your site is not in Search Console at all yet, set that up first: follow the Search Console guide, then come back here. Or add the site to Bing by hand (Step 3).

Step 3: Or add your site by hand (only if Step 2 did not work)​

Skip this step if the import worked.

  1. On the Welcome page (or from the site menu at the top left, Add a site), find Add your site manually.
  2. Type your website address exactly as visitors see it, including https://, for example https://www.acmeplumbing.com. Click Add.
  3. Bing asks you to prove you own the site. It offers three ways. Pick the one that matches how you manage your website:
OptionBest forWhat you do
HTML Meta TagWordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and most website buildersCopy a short line of code from Bing and paste it into your site's "header code" or "verification" setting.
XML File AuthenticationSites where you (or your host) can upload filesDownload a file called BingSiteAuth.xml and upload it to the main folder of your website.
Domain Name System (DNS)Anyone who manages their domain at a registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare…)Add a "CNAME record" in your domain settings. It can take up to a day to work.

Using the meta tag (most common)​

  1. Click HTML Meta Tag. Bing shows a line that starts with <meta name="msvalidate.01" content="....
  2. Click Copy (or select the whole line and copy it).
  3. Paste it into your website:
    • WordPress with Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO → Settings → Site connections → Bing. Paste only the code between the quotes after content=. Save.
    • WordPress with Rank Math: Rank Math → General Settings → Webmaster Tools → Bing Webmaster Tools. Paste the code. Save.
    • WordPress without either: install the free plugin WPCode (Plugins → Add New → search "WPCode"), then Code Snippets → Header & Footer, paste the whole line into Header, and save.
    • Wix: Settings → SEO → Go to SEO Tools → Site Verification → Bing. Paste the code. Save, then Publish the site.
    • Squarespace: Settings → Advanced → Code Injection → Header. Paste the whole line. Save.
    • Shopify: Online Store → Themes → ⋯ → Edit code → theme.liquid. Paste the whole line just after <head>. Save.
    • Someone else built your site? Send them the line and ask them to "add this Bing verification meta tag to the site's head".
  4. Go back to the Bing tab and click Verify.
  5. You should see "Your site has been verified". If not, wait a few minutes (some websites take a moment to update) and click Verify again.

Then add your sitemap​

When you add a site by hand, Bing does not know your sitemap yet.

  1. In Bing, open your site and click Sitemaps in the left menu.
  2. Click Submit sitemap.
  3. Type your sitemap address, usually https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml (WordPress with Yoast: https://yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml). Not sure? Type https://yoursite.com/robots.txt in your browser: the sitemap address is usually listed on a line starting with Sitemap:.
  4. Click Submit.

Step 4: Check that your site is in Bing​

  1. At the top left of Bing Webmaster Tools there is a drop-down with a website address. Click it and make sure your site is selected.
  2. Click Home or Search Performance in the left menu.
  3. If your site is brand new to Bing, the charts will be empty or say "Data not available". That is normal. Bing needs about 2 to 3 days to start showing numbers. You do not need to wait for it: carry on with the next step.

Step 5: Create your API key​

The API key is a long code that lets SEOcondo read your Bing data and tell Bing about new articles. You create it once.

  1. In Bing Webmaster Tools, click the gear icon ⚙ (Settings) at the top right of the page. (On some screens it is in the left menu at the bottom, called Settings.)
  2. Click API access.
  3. Bing may ask you to accept the API terms. Read them and click Agree or Accept.
  4. Click API Key, then Generate API Key.
  5. A long code appears, made of 32 letters and numbers, for example a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6.
  6. Click Copy next to it (or select the whole code carefully and copy it).
Keep the key private

The key works like a password for your Bing Webmaster account. Paste it only into SEOcondo. Do not send it by email or chat, and do not post it anywhere public. If you think someone else saw it, click Regenerate in the same place: the old key stops working, and you paste the new one into SEOcondo.

One key for all your sites

The key belongs to your Bing account, not to one site. If you have several websites in Bing and in SEOcondo, you can paste the same key into each of them in SEOcondo.

Step 6: Connect Bing to SEOcondo​

  1. In a new tab, open SEOcondo and choose your website.
  2. In the left menu, click Visible everywhere. (If you see the Get found everywhere checklist at the top of the page, you can also click Connect Bing there; it brings you to the same place.)
  3. Scroll to the card 1. Bing Webmaster Tools.
  4. Click into the box Bing API key and paste the key from Step 5 (on a computer: right-click → Paste, or press Ctrl + V on Windows / ⌘ + V on Mac).
  5. Click Connect Bing.
  6. After a few seconds you see the message "Bing connected" with your site's address, and the card shows a green Connected label.

What happens now

  • SEOcondo finds your website in your Bing account by itself (it ignores www and http/https differences).
  • It pulls your Bing numbers right away, then again every day.
  • Every article you publish from now on is sent straight to Bing. You can see these under Recent notifications in the IndexNow card, marked Bing.
  • Clara includes Bing in her answers and in her weekly plan.

If the numbers in the card are zero, that is normal for the first 2 to 3 days (see Step 4). Click Refresh Bing data later, or simply wait: SEOcondo updates it every morning.

Tell Bing about the pages you already have. Scroll to the next card, 2. IndexNow: instant indexing, and click Send all published pages now. SEOcondo sends your home page and up to 500 published articles to Bing in one go. You only need to do this once.

Step 7: Turn on instant indexing with IndexNow (recommended)​

IndexNow is a free system shared by several search engines: Bing, Yandex, Seznam, Naver and Yep. When SEOcondo publishes an article, one message tells all of them at once.

Connecting Bing (Step 6) already sends new articles to Bing. IndexNow adds the other engines, and it keeps working even if your Bing connection ever stops. It is worth the 5 minutes if your website lets you add a file (see the table below).

Search engines only accept these alerts from a website that proves it is really yours. The proof is one tiny text file on your website. Its name is a long code followed by .txt, and the only thing inside it is that same code. SEOcondo makes the file for you: you download it and put it on your website.

In SEOcondo, open Visible everywhere and scroll to the card 2. Instant indexing (IndexNow · optional). It walks you through three steps.

Step 1: Download your file​

Click Download. Your browser saves a file such as 34c3a53a3c69404ebfbbc10800d098a7.txt (yours has a different code). Don't rename it and don't open it in Word: it must stay exactly as it is.

Step 2: Put it on your website, next to your homepage​

"Next to your homepage" means the file must open at your website's address followed by the file name, for example https://www.yoursite.com/34c3a53a3c69404ebfbbc10800d098a7.txt. The card shows your exact address in step 3.

In the card, choose what your website is built with. The instructions change to match:

Your websiteWhat to do
Next.js, React or other custom code (often hosted on Vercel or Netlify)Put it in the public folder
WordPressUpload it with File Manager
Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, WebflowThese don't allow files at the main address. Skip IndexNow: connecting Bing (Step 6) already sends new articles to Bing.
Someone else manages your websiteSend them the ready-made message
You can't upload files at allAsk for a rewrite

Next.js, React or custom code​

  1. Move the downloaded file into your project's public folder (the folder that holds favicon.ico and robots.txt).
  2. Commit and deploy as usual. Nothing else changes.

WordPress: upload the file with File Manager​

  1. Log in to your hosting account (the company you pay for your website, not WordPress itself). Open File Manager. In cPanel it is under Files; in Hostinger it is Websites → Manage → File Manager; in SiteGround Site Tools → Site → File Manager.
  2. Open the folder public_html (sometimes called www or named after your domain). You are in the right place if you can see folders called wp-admin, wp-content and wp-includes.
  3. Click Upload, choose the downloaded file, and wait for it to finish.
No access to File Manager?

Install the free plugin WP File Manager (WordPress → Plugins → Add New → search "WP File Manager" → Install → Activate). Open WP File Manager in the left menu: the first folder you see is the right one. Click Upload and choose your file. You can remove the plugin afterwards.

Someone else manages your website​

Choose Someone else manages it in the card. SEOcondo writes the message for you with your file name, the code and the exact address. Click the copy button and send it to them by email or WhatsApp.

You can't upload files: ask for a rewrite​

Instead of a file, the website can forward the address to SEOcondo, which answers with the code. Choose Can't upload files in the card and copy the Forward to address. Your developer adds:

  • Vercel, in vercel.json, inside "rewrites": 
    { "source": "/YOUR-FILE-NAME.txt", "destination": "PASTE-THE-FORWARD-TO-ADDRESS" }
  • Netlify, one line in the _redirects file: 
    /YOUR-FILE-NAME.txt  PASTE-THE-FORWARD-TO-ADDRESS  200

Step 3: Check it​

  1. In the card, click the address shown in step 3. A page should open showing only the code, nothing else. If you see "page not found", the file is not in the right place yet (see Troubleshooting).
  2. Click Check my website.
    • "Instant indexing is on" and a green On label: done. Every new or updated article is now sent to all IndexNow engines.
    • "The file isn't on your website yet": the message underneath says what SEOcondo found. See Troubleshooting below.
  3. If you have not done it yet, click Send all published pages now to send the articles you already have.

Step 8: What you will see afterwards​

In SEOcondo → Visible everywhere

  • The Bing row in the scorecard moves from Not set up to Waiting for data, then to Weak, Visible or Strong as people find you.
  • The Bing Webmaster Tools card shows:
    • four numbers for the last 28 days, each with the change against the 28 days before: Clicks, Impressions, Pages in Bing (how many of your pages Bing can show) and Links to you. Hover or tap a name for what it means;
    • a daily chart of the last 90 days (switch between impressions and clicks; hover a day for its numbers);
    • tabs with your Top searches, Top pages, the pages other websites link to, and Crawl & sitemaps (what Bing read, the sitemaps it knows, and any problems, in plain words);
    • Open in Bing Webmaster, plus links to Bing's own Search performance, Backlinks, Sitemaps, URL inspection and Site scan pages.
  • The IndexNow card lists Recent notifications: each time an article was sent, to which engine, and whether it was accepted.
  • The Get found everywhere checklist ticks the Bing and IndexNow steps by itself.

What Clara does on Bing by herself​

After every Bing refresh (each night, when you connect, and when you click Refresh), Clara does the small jobs below without asking. None of them changes your articles; they only tell Bing about them. You see each one under What Clara did on Bing for you, and they pause when you pause Clara.

  • Uses the right Bing site. If your articles live on www.yoursite.com but Bing is connected to yoursite.com (or the other way round), Bing treats them as two websites and reports almost nothing. Clara switches to the right one if it's in your Bing account; if it isn't, she adds one card to What to do next with the single step only you can do (add that address in Bing).
  • Submits your sitemap if Bing doesn't have it yet.
  • Sends every published article Bing hasn't been told about, newest first, within Bing's daily allowance. Anything left goes out over the next days.

In Clara's answers

  • Ask Clara things like "How am I doing on Bing?", "Which searches bring me visitors on Bing but not on Google?" or "Does Bing have problems reading my site?".
  • Her weekly plan now covers Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Copilot and ChatGPT search, not only Google.

In Bing Webmaster Tools itself (optional, you never have to go back)

  • Search Performance: clicks, impressions and positions on Bing.
  • URL Submission: the articles SEOcondo sent. Bing allows a daily number; SEOcondo stays within it.
  • Site Explorer and Site Scan: Bing's own checks of your pages.

How long until I appear on Bing? New articles usually show up within a few days of being sent. Ranking well takes longer, just as on Google: weeks to months. Clara tracks it every week.

Ask Bing directly​

Under the Bing card there is a small panel with three buttons. Each one asks Bing a live question (so it takes a second or two), and none of them changes your site.

Check a page. Type a page address (or leave it empty for your busiest page) and click Check. Bing answers with what it knows about that address: whether it is in the index, when it last read the page, whether it ever found it, how many links point at it, and how many clicks and impressions it has had. If Bing has never seen the page, or saw an error, tick Ask Bing to fetch it again first — Bing then fetches the page immediately and you can read the exact response it got (status line, headers and start of the page). This is the fastest way to answer "why is this one page not showing up?".

Keyword ideas. Type a word your customers use. Bing returns related searches with its own impression estimates, and marks the ones you already appear for. Use the unmarked ones as content ideas; use the marked ones to improve pages that already rank. These numbers are Bing's, so compare them with each other rather than with Google's volumes (Clara's market data covers Google).

Settings check. Shows what Bing is doing to your site behind the scenes: pages you have blocked from Bing, tracking parameters Bing is told to ignore, whether faster crawling is available, how many short-lived questions Bing will accept per day, country targeting and who has access. It also lists pages that compete for the same search — when two of your pages fight over one phrase, neither ranks as well as one strong page would. Nothing here is changed for you: if something should change, the panel says what and why, and you (or the person who runs your site) makes the change in Bing.

Troubleshooting​

SEOcondo says "Bing rejected this API key." The key was copied incompletely, or it was regenerated in Bing after you copied it. Go back to Step 5, click Copy next to the key (rather than selecting it by hand), and paste it again. The key is 32 letters and numbers with no spaces.

SEOcondo says "This site is not in that Bing Webmaster account yet." Your Bing account does not contain this website, or contains a different address for it. The message lists the sites that are in that account.

  • If the list is empty or does not include your site, add it in Bing first (Step 2 or Step 3), then click Connect Bing again.
  • If your site is there but with a different address (for example an old domain), add the current address to Bing (Step 2) so both match the website address you use in SEOcondo.

SEOcondo says "Paste the API key from Bing Webmaster…" The box contains something that is not an API key (for example the verification meta tag from Step 3, or a web address). Copy the key from Settings → API access in Bing.

Bing shows "Data not available" or zero everywhere. Normal for 2 to 3 days after adding a site. If it is still empty after a week, open Site Explorer in Bing to check that it can reach your pages, and make sure your website is not blocking Bing (see the robots.txt question below).

Instant indexing: "We opened … and got "page not found"". The file is not in the right place yet. Click the address in step 3 of the card: you should see only the code. If you see "page not found":

  • It is in the wrong folder. It must be in the same place as your homepage: the public folder for Next.js/React sites, public_html for WordPress. Not inside another folder.
  • Its name changed. It must be exactly the downloaded name, ending in .txt (not .txt.txt; Windows sometimes hides the second one). Download it again rather than renaming.
  • You uploaded it but the website hasn't updated yet. Sites on Vercel or Netlify need a new deploy; some hosts cache pages for a few minutes.

Instant indexing: "We found the file … but it contains something other than the code". The file was opened and saved in another program (often Word), which added hidden formatting. Download it again from SEOcondo and replace the old file without opening it.

Instant indexing was on, and now the card says "File not found on your site". If the search engines report that the file has disappeared (for example after moving hosts or reinstalling WordPress), SEOcondo pauses IndexNow so nothing fails silently. Put the file back (Step 2) and click Check my website. Your Bing connection keeps sending articles to Bing in the meantime.

The Visible everywhere page says robots.txt blocks "bingbot". Your website tells Bing's robot to stay away, so Bing cannot read your pages, and neither can Copilot or ChatGPT search. This is usually a leftover setting:

  • WordPress: Settings → Reading, make sure Discourage search engines from indexing this site is not ticked. Save.
  • Otherwise ask whoever manages your site to remove the Disallow lines for bingbot in robots.txt.

I want to disconnect Bing. In Visible everywhere, in the Bing card, click Disconnect. SEOcondo deletes the key. To be extra safe, also click Regenerate next to the key in Bing (Step 5): the old key then stops working everywhere.

Still stuck? Ask Clara on the Ask Clara page. Describe what you see on screen (or copy the error message) and she will walk you through it.