For many people, the Bing V/S Google SEO debate is long settled. Accounting for 84.69 percent of the global search market share, Google is the unrivaled entity that decides the tide and trends of contemporary SEO practices. Of course, perceiving Google as the kingpin of search engines is justifiable. However, if Google’s algorithm updates solely dictate your search optimization efforts, it might be time to re-think your strategies. Most marketers shun the significance of Bing as a lucrative traffic generation channel. However, when optimized appropriately, Bing SEO can be incredibly lucrative. How and why? Let us find out!
Top Four Reasons Why Bing SEO Holds Significance for Your Online Presence
As of January 2023, Bing accounted for 8.85 percent of the global search market. The numbers may seem minuscule in the Google V/S Bing SEO debate, but they matter. To begin with, Bing’s popularity as a search engine has grown considerably. For instance, its desktop search market has proliferated by 41.03 percent since 2019, which is quite an applaud-worthy feat.
- Bing’s SEO is Less Competitive
The main reason Bing is still extremely relevant for SEO efforts in 2023 is quite obvious – less crowding equals less competition. New York Times bestselling author and digital marketer Neil Patel opines that an inviolable reason to add Bing to your SEO campaign is that fewer of your rivals are vying to attain a SERP rank on Bing. As most marketers throng towards Google because of its gargantuan share of search traffic, the competition on Bing declines, a loophole you can co-opt. The key is to remember that 8.85 percent of the search market may seem small to the untrained eye, but it is a massive volume when seen in tandem with the 20 billion or so online searches performed every day.
In Bing, you are in direct competition with fewer businesses. Thus, the prospect of achieving a higher spot in search results and a bigger share of eyeballs and targeted web traffic increases. The less stringent competition on Bing is especially beneficial for small and upcoming businesses as there is a greater chance of receiving a feasible ROI on organic search optimization searches. According to Google, it may take up to 12 months to see any kind of viable result from SEO activity on Google. However, the time taken to witness an optimal result is much shorter on Bing, as fewer pages are contending for the same top spot.
- Bing is More Budget-friendly
Price effectiveness is the second most compelling reason Bing continues to persevere in the Google V/S Bing SEO debate. Any SEO specialist or PPC advertiser who dedicates some portion of the marketing budget to Google AdWords would be all too familiar with the hole it burns in the pocket when someone clicks on one of the placed ads. A 2017 study shows that Cost-Per-Click (CPC) is now at an all-time high, and even mobile ad prices have increased by leaps and bounds. In such a context, investing in Bing SEO is much more budget-friendly. With lower search traffic, Bing is a much cheaper alternative for those who cannot afford to pay for Google ads. For instance, the average CPC on Bing ads is USD 1.54, which is much lower than that OF Google. Such cost competitiveness comes in very handy when you are just starting your SEO journey.
- Bing is More Transparent
One of the traits that make Bing truly unique is that it is much more open and transparent about its ranking factors when compared to Google. Thus, it is possible to get a bigger piece of the ‘Bing pie’ with lesser effort. In addition, you do not have to be on your toes, driven by anxiety, thinking whether your SEO efforts are tuned to the latest algorithm updates regarding Bing. For instance, although Google has always been inconspicuous about the significance of ‘social signals’ in a web page’s ranking, Bing has clarified that social media plays a part in its SERP results.
According to Bing, “Social media plays a role in today’s effort to rank well in search results. The most obvious part it plays is via influence. If you are influential socially, this leads to your followers sharing your information widely, which in turn results in Bing seeing these positive signals. These positive signals can have an impact on how you rank organically in the long run.”
Therefore, when it comes to transparency, Bing makes it pretty clear what you need to achieve an impactful rank on its SERP. So, whether you are contemplating dabbling into SEO or have been investing in it for quite a few years, optimizing your search engine efforts for Bing can be beneficial as you have a clear structure on what needs to be done and how.
- Bing Places for Businesses
The fourth reason Bing is still relevant in the Google V/S Bing SEO debate is the Bing Places for Business feature. It is a straightforward way to increase local visibility. Thus, the feature is incredibly pertinent if your business caters to the local service area. Like Google My Business, Bing’s Places for Business is a free listing that helps your enterprise upload vital information such as a physical address, contact information, website link, opening hours, photos, etc., so that local people can find you in a jiffy. For digital marketers and agencies, Bing provides an agency dashboard wherein you can manage multiple Places for Business Listings from one central location, making it easier and seamless to run local search campaigns. It is a feature that Google has been unable to emulate yet, thereby providing Bing an edge.
Wrapping It Up
So, there we have it, a crisp and updated review on how Bing is still relevant for your search optimization strategies. To stand out and stay afloat and ensure that your enterprise thrives through online traffic, it is essential to look beyond the Google V/S Bing SEO debate and consider the pros and cons of both sites. Although Google currently seems infallible, the growth of Bing is commendable, and you never know when the tables will turn. Nevertheless, it is always best to stay two steps ahead of the competition, and an excellent way to do this is by investing time, energy, and resources in Bing SEO. We at Opositive can help devise a foolproof SEO strategy for your business that caters to Google, Bing, and more.
