Optimize for Bing

Now that new search engines like Bing are being discussed more frequently its clear that people want to know how to optimize for Microsoft's latest introduction to search. Those who visit Bing will find that the site provides general search and a category search. Other than a large graphic, the search engine doesn't appear to have a lot behind it. However, Microsoft has reported a more intelligent search engine and new search experience.

You might be asking yourself, what does Bing mean for my website and how can I ensure that my web site is found? I have been receiving a number of inquiries from individuals who are concerned that their website will lose ranking based on this new search. I have begun to research Bing as a search engine and found out that much of it's methodology for ranking is similar to that of Google.

When looking at top ranked websites, an in depth analysis can be done to see which factors vary between top results. A recent comparison that I viewed showed that the number one ranking website on Bing was able to keep a leg up on the competition by having an older domain age, and having inbound links from websites that included the primary keyword in the referring sites title tag. In short, the top web site was successful in building inbound links from other SEO sites and directories as opposed to being from unrelated websites.

What I find of particular interest is that Bing is relying on many of the same factors that Google has been using from day one. The factor you should be most concerned with is inbound linking. All major search engines like inbound links. More importantly, they like relevant in bound links. Use this information to guide your SEO campaigns and determine which sites to target for link exchanges.

Organic search should be at the top of your list. If it is then you know where you need to focus, inbound linking. If you haven't already focused your efforts on organic search then start with on page optimization. Once your site is formatted appropriately, start with off page optimization and link building.

Another area of importance is content. Search engines like Bing look for fresh, relevant content. You want to make sure that your content is valuable to browsers and web site visitors but that it is also relevant and up to date. Consider adding a revising content on a regular basis. This helps you succeed in generating inbound links and quality scores from search engine algorithms.

You might be wondering which search engine you should be optimizing your web site for. Based on what I've seen, I'm encouraged by preliminary Bing related findings. I believe that Bing is using many of the same factors that Google uses to evaluate a sites relevance to a search query. As always, focus on white hat methods to optimize your site and follow SEO basics.

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