Bing Webmaster Tools Setup Guide: Step by Step

Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft's free equivalent of Google Search Console, and for many websites it's the most overlooked SEO tool they could be using. Setting it up takes about ten minutes if you already use Search Console, and it gives you search data, indexing controls and AI citation reports that Google can't. This Bing Webmaster Tools setup guide covers each step, from verification and sitemaps to IndexNow and your API key.

Key takeaways

If your site is already in Google Search Console, importing it into Bing Webmaster Tools verifies it automatically and brings its sitemaps across.
Add a backup verification method, because revoking Bing's access to your Google account means you must re-import or verify another way.
IndexNow tells Bing and other participating engines about changed URLs straight away, but Google is not a participating engine.
Only one Bing Webmaster API key can be generated per user, it works for all your verified sites and should be treated like a password.

Why Bing matters for your website

Google dominates search in most countries, but Bing's index reaches much further than Bing.com itself.

Microsoft Copilot uses Bing to find and cite web pages. Bing Webmaster Tools now reports how often your pages are cited as sources in Copilot and Bing's AI answers.
DuckDuckGo says it "largely" sources its traditional links and images from Bing.
Yahoo Search has long used Bing's results.
Ecosia blends results from several sources, including Bing.
Windows and Edge send searches from the taskbar and the browser address bar to Bing by default, which is why Bing's share is noticeably higher on desktop than on mobile.

If you are not in Bing's index, you are missing from all of these at once. That matters most for B2B firms, professional services and anyone whose customers search from work PCs. We covered Bing's UK market share and its new AI citation reports in our news piece on Bing Webmaster Tools AI reports. This guide is the practical setup.

Step 1: Create a Bing Webmaster Tools account

Go to bing.com/webmasters and sign in. Microsoft lets you sign in with a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account. If you manage sites for a business, use an account the business controls rather than a personal one, so access doesn't leave with a member of staff.

Step 2: Add your site (import from Google Search Console)

You have two routes. If your site is already verified in Google Search Console, importing is the quickest.

Option A: Import from Google Search Console (recommended)

On the My Sites page, choose Import.
Sign in to the Google account that has access to your Search Console properties and grant access.
Pick the sites you want. The selection screen shows each site's sitemap count and your role.
Click Import.

Imported sites are verified automatically, and their sitemaps come across too. You can import up to 100 sites at a time, within an overall limit of 1,000 sites per Bing Webmaster Tools account, and you can import from more than one Google account.

There is one catch: Bing periodically checks your ownership by syncing with Search Console. If you later revoke Bing's access to your Google account, you will need to re-import or verify another way. For a business-critical site, it's worth adding a second verification method as a backup.

Option B: Add your site manually

Enter your site URL, then choose a verification method:

Method	How it works	Best for
XML file	Download `BingSiteAuth.xml` and upload it to your site's root folder	cPanel, FTP or Nginx/Apache access
Meta tag	Add a `<meta name="msvalidate.01" content="...">` tag to your homepage `<head>`	WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace
DNS record	Add the CNAME record Bing gives you at your DNS provider	Anyone who manages DNS (registrar, cPanel Zone Editor, Cloudflare)
Domain Connect	Bing updates DNS for you at supported providers after you log in	Domains at a supported registrar

On WordPress, Yoast, Rank Math and All in One SEO all have a Bing verification field: paste just the content value. On Shopify, add the meta tag to theme.liquid inside <head>, or use your SEO app's field. Leave the file, tag or record in place after verification, because removing it can cost you access.

Bing says traffic data for newly verified sites can take up to 48 hours to appear.

Step 3: Submit your XML sitemap

If you imported from Search Console, check that your sitemaps came across. Otherwise, open Sitemaps, click Submit sitemap and enter its full URL:

WordPress: /wp-sitemap.xml or your SEO plugin's /sitemap_index.xml
Shopify, Wix and Squarespace: /sitemap.xml

You can also add a Sitemap: line to your robots.txt so every search engine finds it. Make sure the sitemap only lists canonical, indexable URLs that return 200; redirected and 404 URLs waste crawl attention. Our XML sitemap guide covers the details, and the free sitemap checker tests yours.

Step 4: Set up IndexNow

IndexNow is an open protocol that lets you tell participating search engines, including Bing, the moment a URL is added, updated or deleted, instead of waiting to be recrawled. Submissions are shared between participating engines, so one ping reaches all of them. Google isn't a participating engine, so keep relying on your sitemap and Search Console for Google.

The easy way: use your platform

Cloudflare: turn on Crawler Hints, which uses IndexNow to notify search engines when your content changes.
WordPress: Microsoft's IndexNow plugin, or the IndexNow option in plugins such as Rank Math, Yoast or All in One SEO.
Shopify: Microsoft announced in 2025 that Shopify supports IndexNow.

The manual way

Generate a key of 8 to 128 characters (letters, numbers and dashes).
Save it in a UTF-8 text file named {your-key}.txt in your site's root, containing only the key.
Notify a participating engine when a URL changes:

GET https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url=https://www.example.com/new-page&key=your-key

For several URLs at once, send a POST with up to 10,000 URLs:

{
  "host": "www.example.com",
  "key": "your-key",
  "urlList": [
    "https://www.example.com/services/",
    "https://www.example.com/blog/new-post"
  ]
}

A 200 or 202 response means the submission was received; it doesn't guarantee indexing. A 403 means Bing couldn't find or match your key file. In Bing Webmaster Tools, the IndexNow section shows the URLs you've submitted.

Step 5: Inspect URLs and read the reports

Once your data starts flowing, these are the areas to know:

Search Performance: clicks, impressions, CTR and average position for Bing, with keyword and page breakdowns. Compare it with Search Console; queries often differ, especially for B2B terms.
URL Inspection: enter any URL to see whether Bing has crawled and indexed it, plus any SEO or markup issues it found. Use it after fixing a page.
Site Scan: an on-demand crawl of your site that flags technical SEO problems such as missing meta descriptions, 4xx errors, long titles, multiple H1s and missing alt text.
SEO Reports and Recommendations: an issue list grouped by severity, with affected pages.
Backlinks and Keyword Research: free data on sites linking to you and Bing search volumes. Our guide to checking backlinks in webmaster tools for free shows how to read it alongside Google's Links report.
AI Performance: how often your content is cited as a source in Copilot and Bing's AI answers. Our news article explains the metrics.

Check robots.txt doesn't block Bingbot. An over-broad rule removes you from Bing, Copilot and the engines that rely on Bing all at once. Our free AI crawler checker reports whether Googlebot, Bingbot and the AI search crawlers can reach your site.

Step 6: Generate your Bing Webmaster API key

The API key lets other tools read your Bing data. To create one:

In Bing Webmaster Tools, click Settings (top right) and open API Access.
Accept the terms if this is your first time, then select API Key.
Click Generate API Key.

Only one API key can be generated per user, and it works for all of your verified sites. Treat it like a password. If it's ever exposed, delete it and generate a new one; any tools using the old key will stop working until you update them. Microsoft recommends OAuth for applications, but an API key is the simplest option for connecting a dashboard.

See Bing and Google together

Our free Search Console dashboard lets you add your Bing API key to see Bing clicks, impressions, keywords and pages next to your Google Search Console data, so you don't have to switch between two tools. It's read-only and free on every plan.

Bing Webmaster Tools setup checklist

Account created with a business-owned login
Site imported from Search Console or verified manually
Backup verification method added (meta tag or DNS)
XML sitemap submitted and showing success
IndexNow enabled through your platform, plugin or Cloudflare
robots.txt allows Bingbot
Site Scan run and the high-severity issues fixed
API key generated and stored securely

Bing and Google reward the same technical basics. To check your robots.txt, sitemap, canonicals, titles, speed and security headers in one go, run a free website audit.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bing Webmaster Tools free?

Yes. Bing Webmaster Tools is free for any site owner. You can sign in with a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account.

Can I import my sites from Google Search Console into Bing?

Yes. Choose Import on the My Sites page and grant access to your Google account. Imported sites, and their sitemaps, are verified automatically, but Bing needs ongoing access to Search Console to keep confirming ownership.

Does IndexNow work with Google?

No. Google isn't a participating IndexNow engine. Use IndexNow for Bing and the other participating engines, and keep an accurate sitemap and Search Console for Google.

How long does it take for data to appear in Bing Webmaster Tools?

Bing says traffic data for newly verified sites can take up to 48 hours to appear. Indexing of new pages can be faster if you use IndexNow.

Do DuckDuckGo and Copilot use Bing's index?

DuckDuckGo says it largely sources its traditional links and images from Bing, and Microsoft Copilot uses Bing to find and cite pages. Being indexed in Bing helps your visibility in both.

Bing Webmaster Tools Setup Guide: Step by Step

Why Bing matters for your website

Step 1: Create a Bing Webmaster Tools account

Step 2: Add your site (import from Google Search Console)