Just like Google and Yahoo, Bing is a separate search engine with its own proprietary search indexing systems.  This means that certain features used to accumulate traffic and increase PageRank on Google may not work equivalently on Bing, and vice-versa.  Knowing what tactics to use and what mistakes to watch out for can make the difference between appearing as the top result in a given search query and being stuffed pages back, under lots of content that might not be as relevant but is properly formatted and indexed.  The following pieces of advice will help you correct any issues you may currently have and will also give you more ideas on how to improve your rankings with Bing.

Avoiding HTML Mistakes

Sites encoded with HTML or that feature a HTML script for bots to read through can make or break your site, depending on how it is presented to the search engine spiders/bots.  Leaving even just one tag opened can cause trouble for you as search engine bots love correct and properly formatted code; this will automatically give you “penalty points” towards your prioritization by Bing’s algorithms.  You also want the HTML as simplified as possible; using tools such as Pingler’s HTML Optimizer can help you eliminate unnecessary aspects of your HTML code that may cause issues for you with Bing’s bots.

Check for Broken Links

The only way a bot can find the secondary and tertiary pages on your site is by “crawling” through your links to properly determine where they are located.  Any broken links on your site can prevent the crawlers from doing their job, potentially leaving vast portions of your site unsearchable by  those who use Bing.  In many instances, some secondary pages can be more important than the homepage itself, so it is absolutely vital to eliminate any broken links that exist.  Bing’s systems also view broken links as another “penalty” and will judge your site accordingly.

Maintain Simple URLs and Headings

If your URLs are being automatically generated from letters and numbers, you could be missing out on valuable traffic.  By altering the URLs of each page to match in wording the topic of said page, you add priority to these pages by making them appear more relevant, which is a big plus with Bing’s crawlers, spiders and bots.  In many CMS-managed websites, using headers that also mimic the URL and topic of the page give even more credit and will boost your page even higher.  If you are coding from the ground up, try using the <strong> </strong> tags instead of <b> </b> tags, as the <strong> tags not only bold the text, but make it stand out to search engines like Bing.

Check the Bing Index Rating for Each Page

Knowing whether or not a page has already been picked up by Bing is helpful in determining which pages need more links and paths for spiders to crawl and which pages are discoverable as-is.  Pingler’s Bing Indexed Pages Checker allows you to enter the URL of any page and see if it has been indexed by Bing’s proprietary systems.