Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft's free console that shows how Bing crawls, indexes and ranks your website, and what traffic it sends you. If you already use Google Search Console, think of Bing Webmaster Tools as its Microsoft counterpart, with a few extra tools and a growing link to AI answers in Microsoft Copilot.
This guide covers what Bing Webmaster Tools is, how to set it up, which reports matter, and how to bring its data into your regular reporting.
What is Bing Webmaster Tools and why does it matter?
Bing Webmaster Tools is a free service from Microsoft for site owners, SEO specialists and agencies. It tells you which queries show your pages in Bing, how many clicks they get, whether your pages are indexed and which technical issues block them.
Bing has a smaller market share than Google, but ignoring it is a mistake for three reasons:
- Bing powers more than bing.com. Bing's index is the foundation for Microsoft Copilot answers, and many AI search experiences draw on web indexes like Bing's. If a page is not in Bing's index, it cannot be cited from it.
- Different audiences. Bing is the default search engine in Windows and Microsoft Edge, so desktop and B2B audiences are often over-represented.
- Low competition, fast feedback. Bing tends to reward clean technical SEO, and IndexNow makes new content discoverable quickly.
If you are working on visibility in AI-generated answers, read our guide on GEO vs SEO and how AI search engines pick sources: Bing indexing is one of the practical starting points.
Bing Webmaster Tools login and sign up
To create a Bing Webmaster Tools account, go to bing.com/webmasters and sign in with a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account. The same page is your Bing Webmaster Tools login from then on.
Use an account that belongs to the business, not to a single freelancer. You can later add colleagues or clients from Settings → User Management, with different permission levels (administrator, read/write, read-only), so nobody has to share a password.
How to set up Bing Webmaster Tools: add and verify your site
After signing in, Bing asks you to add a site. You have two paths.
Option 1: import from Google Search Console
This is the fastest method. Bing Webmaster Tools connects to your Google account, lists the properties you have verified in Google Search Console and imports the ones you choose, together with their sitemaps. Imported sites are verified automatically, so there is nothing to upload. Bing then checks periodically that you still have access in Search Console.
Option 2: add the site manually
If you do not use Search Console, enter the site URL and pick one of three verification methods:
| Method | What you do | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| XML file | Upload BingSiteAuth.xml to the root of your site |
Sites where you can access the file system or FTP |
| Meta tag | Add <meta name="msvalidate.01" content="…"> in the <head> of your home page |
CMS sites such as WordPress, Shopify, Webflow |
| DNS CNAME | Create a CNAME record with the values Bing gives you | Teams that manage DNS, or sites with no editable code |
Whatever you choose, leave the verification in place. If the file, tag or DNS record disappears during a redesign or migration, Bing can unverify the site and you lose access to the data.
Sitemaps, URL submission and IndexNow
Once the site is verified, tell Bing what to crawl.
- Submit a sitemap. Open the Sitemaps section and add the URL of your XML sitemap (for example
https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml). Also list it inrobots.txtwith aSitemap:line, so every crawler finds it. - Submit important URLs manually. The URL Submission tool lets you push individual pages to Bing. There is a daily quota, shown directly in the tool, so use it for new or significantly updated pages, not for the whole site.
- Enable IndexNow. IndexNow is an open protocol: when a page is added, updated or deleted, your site pings participating search engines immediately instead of waiting for a crawl. You host a key file on your domain and send the changed URLs to the IndexNow endpoint. Many CMS platforms, CDNs and SEO plugins support it natively; the specification and the list of participating engines are on indexnow.org.
Bing supports IndexNow; Google currently does not, so keep your sitemap up to date for Google and use IndexNow on top of it.
The main Bing Webmaster Tools reports
Bing Webmaster Tools has a short menu, but each section answers a specific question.
Search Performance
Search Performance is the report you will open most. Bing Webmaster Tools shows four core metrics:
- Clicks: visits from Bing results to your site.
- Impressions: how often your pages appeared in results.
- CTR:
CTR = clicks ÷ impressions × 100. - Average position: the average ranking of your pages for the selected queries.
You can filter by query, page, country and device and compare periods. A practical example: suppose a page gets 10,000 impressions and 150 clicks in a month. The CTR is 1.5%. If the average position is 4, that CTR is low, so rewriting the title and meta description is a quick win. For benchmarks and how to improve it, see our guide to CTR and what a good click-through rate is.
URL Inspection
URL Inspection shows how Bing sees a single URL: whether it is indexed, when it was last crawled, any errors, and the markup Bing detected. Use it after publishing important content or fixing a technical issue, and request indexing from there.
Site Explorer
Site Explorer shows your site as a folder tree, with clicks, impressions, indexed pages, backlinks and crawl issues for each directory. It is the quickest way to spot which section of a large site is underperforming or not being indexed.
Backlinks
The Backlinks report lists domains and pages that link to you, with their anchor text. You can also compare your link profile with other sites and disavow spammy links if needed. Bing's backlink data is free and often shows links that other free tools miss.
Keyword Research
Keyword Research shows search volume and trends from Bing data for any query, by country and language, plus related keywords. It is useful for checking demand on Bing specifically, which can differ from Google, especially in B2B niches.
SEO reports, Site Scan and Recommendations
Site Scan is an on-demand crawl of your site that finds technical problems such as broken links, missing titles, duplicate meta descriptions or blocked resources. The SEO reports and Recommendations sections summarize issues found across the site and rank them by severity, so you know what to fix first.
Bing Webmaster Tools AI: Copilot performance data
Because Microsoft Copilot builds its answers on Bing's index, Microsoft has been adding reporting about how your content appears in AI-generated answers on Bing and Copilot. The exact reports and metrics are still evolving, and availability can vary by account, so check the dashboard and the official Bing Webmaster blog for what is currently available on your site.
What you can do today, regardless of the specific report, is make sure your important pages are indexed, crawlable and clearly structured. AI answers can only cite pages that Bing has crawled and understood.
Bing Webmaster Tools vs Google Search Console
Both tools are free and cover the same basics, but they are not identical.
| Feature | Bing Webmaster Tools | Google Search Console |
|---|---|---|
| Search engine covered | Bing (data also relevant to Copilot) | Google Search, Discover, News |
| Core metrics | Clicks, impressions, CTR, average position | Clicks, impressions, CTR, average position |
| Verification | Import from GSC, XML file, meta tag, DNS CNAME | HTML file, meta tag, DNS, Analytics, Tag Manager |
| Fast indexing | URL Submission + IndexNow | URL Inspection request (manual) |
| Backlink data | Detailed backlinks report with anchors | Basic links report |
| Keyword research | Built-in Keyword Research tool | Not available |
| Site audit | Site Scan | Not available (only page experience and indexing reports) |
| API | Yes, with API key or OAuth | Yes, with OAuth |
In short: Google Search Console is essential because of Google's reach, but Bing Webmaster Tools gives you extra tools for free and covers the search engine behind Copilot. Use both.
How to get the Bing Webmaster Tools API key
The Bing Webmaster Tools API lets you read your data programmatically: search performance, keywords, pages, crawl stats and more. Microsoft documents it on learn.microsoft.com.
To get the key:
- Sign in at bing.com/webmasters.
- Open Settings (the gear icon in the top right).
- Select API Access and generate your API key.
- Copy the key and store it securely, for example in a password manager.
The key gives read access to every site in your account, so treat it like a password and regenerate it if it leaks.
With the key you can bring Bing data into the same reports as your other channels. For example, Klyrax connects to Bing Webmaster Tools in read-only mode via API key and shows clicks, impressions, CTR, position, keywords, pages, crawl and indexing data and backlinks next to Google Search Console, so clients see Google and Bing organic performance in one live report.
Common Bing Webmaster Tools mistakes
- Setting it up once and never checking it. Crawl errors and indexing drops show up in Bing Webmaster Tools weeks before they hurt traffic. Review it at least monthly.
- Losing verification after a redesign. A new theme often removes the
msvalidate.01meta tag. DNS verification or GSC import is more robust. - No sitemap, or a stale one. A sitemap full of redirects and 404s wastes crawl budget and lowers trust in the sitemap.
- Blocking Bingbot. Check
robots.txt, firewall and CDN bot rules: some security settings block Bingbot by mistake, which also removes you from Copilot's source pool. - Ignoring IndexNow. Without it, new and updated pages can wait days to be recrawled.
- Comparing Bing and Google numbers directly. Bing traffic is smaller; compare trends and CTR, not absolute clicks.
- Sharing your login instead of adding users. Use User Management and give clients read-only access.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bing Webmaster Tools?
Bing Webmaster Tools is a free Microsoft service that shows how Bing crawls, indexes and ranks your website. It reports clicks, impressions, CTR and average position, lets you submit sitemaps and URLs, inspect individual pages, analyze backlinks and research keywords. It is the Bing equivalent of Google Search Console and also matters for Microsoft Copilot, which relies on Bing's index.
Is Bing Webmaster Tools free?
Yes. Bing Webmaster Tools is completely free. You only need a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account to sign in at bing.com/webmasters and a website you can verify. There are no paid tiers, and the API used to export data into dashboards or reporting tools is free as well, within the usage limits Microsoft applies.
How do I verify my site in Bing Webmaster Tools?
You have four options. The fastest is importing sites from Google Search Console, which verifies them automatically. Alternatively, upload the BingSiteAuth.xml file to your site root, add the msvalidate.01 meta tag to your home page, or create a CNAME record in your DNS. Keep the file, tag or record in place, because removing it can unverify the site.
What is IndexNow and does Google use it?
IndexNow is an open protocol that lets you notify participating search engines as soon as a URL is added, updated or deleted, instead of waiting for the next crawl. Bing supports it along with other engines listed on indexnow.org. Google does not currently use IndexNow, so you still need sitemaps and Google Search Console for Google.
Where do I find the Bing Webmaster Tools API key?
Sign in to Bing Webmaster Tools, open Settings (the gear icon) and choose API Access. From there you can generate an API key tied to your account. Treat the key like a password: anyone who has it can read your site data. Paste it into the reporting tool you want to connect, and regenerate it if it is ever exposed.
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