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How to Add Your Website to Bing Webmaster Tools (Complete Step-by-Step Tutorial 2026)

Learn how to submit your website to Bing Webmaster Tools in 2026 with this beginner-friendly tutorial. From account setup and ownership verification
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Most website owners focus all their SEO efforts on Google and completely forget about Bing — and that's a mistake. Bing powers Microsoft's search engine and also fuels Yahoo Search, making it the second largest search engine in the world. Ignoring it means leaving free organic traffic on the table. The good news is that submitting your website to Bing Webmaster Tools is quick, free, and — if you've already set up Google Search Console — can be done in just a couple of clicks. This tutorial covers the entire process from start to finish, including every verification method and what to do after your site is verified.

Why Bing Webmaster Tools Matters

Before diving into the steps, it's worth understanding why Bing deserves your attention. Bing holds a significant share of desktop search traffic globally, and in some regions and demographics — particularly Windows users and older age groups — Bing is the default and primary search engine. For gaming websites and content blogs, ranking on Bing alongside Google can meaningfully increase your total organic traffic.

Bing Webmaster Tools is a free service that connects your website with the Bing crawler so it shows up in Bing's search results. It also gives you access to keyword data, crawl reports, backlink analysis, SEO suggestions, and a URL submission tool — all within a clean, easy-to-navigate dashboard.

What You'll Need Before Starting

Make sure you have the following ready:

  • A Microsoft account, Google account, or Facebook account to log in

  • Your website's full URL (e.g., https://www.yourwebsite.com)

  • Access to your website backend (WordPress dashboard or Hostinger hPanel)

  • Optionally: Your Google Search Console already set up (makes the process even faster)

Step 1: Go to Bing Webmaster Tools

Open your browser and visit:
👉 https://www.bing.com/webmasters

Click the "Get Started" button. You'll be asked to sign in. You can use:

  • Microsoft Account (Outlook, Hotmail)

  • Google Account (recommended if you already use Google Search Console)

  • Facebook Account

Using your Google account is highly recommended because it allows you to import your site directly from Google Search Console, skipping manual verification entirely.

Step 2: Add Your Website — Two Methods

Once logged in, Bing gives you two ways to add your site:

Method A: Import from Google Search Console ⚡ (Fastest — Recommended)

If you've already completed Google Search Console setup, this is by far the easiest option. Bing automatically imports your verified site and skips the entire verification process.

  1. On the Bing Webmaster Tools home screen, click "Import from Google Search Console"

  2. Click "Continue" — Bing will ask for permission to access your Google Search Console data

  3. Select the specific website you want to import from the list

  4. Click Import

  5. You'll see a confirmation message saying the import was successful

That's it — your site is verified instantly. Bing also imports your sitemaps from GSC automatically, so you don't need to resubmit them separately. This method can get your site fully set up in under two minutes.

Method B: Add Your Website Manually

If you haven't set up Google Search Console yet, or prefer to add sites manually, follow these steps:

  1. On the Bing Webmaster Tools dashboard, click the "+" (plus/Add a Site) button

  2. A form will appear — type in your full website URL exactly as it appears in the browser, including https://

    • Example: https://www.yourwebsite.com

  3. Optionally, enter your sitemap URL in the field provided (e.g., https://www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml)

  4. Click Add

After clicking Add, Bing will take you to the ownership verification screen.

Step 3: Verify Your Website Ownership (Manual Method)

Bing offers three verification methods. Choose the one that works best for your setup:

Verification Method 1: HTML Meta Tag (Best for WordPress)

This is the most popular and beginner-friendly method for WordPress websites.

  1. Bing will provide you with a unique meta tag code that looks like this:
    <meta name="msvalidate.01" content="XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" />

  2. Copy the entire code snippet

  3. Go to your WordPress dashboard → Open Yoast SEO → Settings → Site Connections

  4. Paste the Bing meta tag into the Bing field and click Save

  5. Return to Bing Webmaster Tools and click Verify

If you're not using Yoast SEO, you can alternatively:

  • Use the Insert Headers and Footers plugin and paste the tag in the "Scripts in Header" section

  • Or go to Appearance → Theme Editor → header.php and paste it just before the </head> closing tag

Bing will verify instantly once it detects the meta tag on your homepage.

Verification Method 2: Upload XML File

This method works well for users comfortable with file management, such as in Hostinger's hPanel File Manager.

  1. Bing provides a file named BingSiteAuth.xml — download it.

  2. Log into your hosting control panel (e.g., Hostinger hPanel → File Manager)

  3. Navigate to the root directory of your website (the public_html folder)

  4. Upload the BingSiteAuth.xml file directly there.

  5. Once uploaded, the file should be accessible at:
    https://www.yourwebsite.com/BingSiteAuth.xml

  6. Return to Bing Webmaster Tools and click Verify

Bing will look for the file at that URL, and once found, it will verify your ownership immediately.

Verification Method 3: DNS TXT Record

This method is best suited for users who are comfortable with domain DNS settings, or for those who prefer not to touch any website files or code.

  1. Bing provides a TXT record that looks something like:
    MS=12345678ABC

  2. Log in to your domain registrar — this could be Hostinger, GoDaddy, Namecheap, or whichever provider manages your domain

  3. Go to DNS Settings and click Add New Record

  4. Set the record type to TXT, leave the host field as @ (representing your root domain), and paste the Bing TXT value into the Value field

  5. Save the DNS record

  6. Return to Bing Webmaster Tools and click Verify

⚠️ DNS changes may take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to propagate globally. If verification fails at first, simply wait a few hours and try again.

Step 4: Submit Your Sitemap to Bing

After verification, the next critical step is submitting your XML sitemap. This tells Bing's crawler exactly which pages exist on your website so it can index them quickly and efficiently.

Finding your sitemap URL:

  • If you use Yoast SEO or Rank Math on WordPress, your sitemap is automatically generated at:
    https://www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml or https://www.yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml

How to submit it in Bing Webmaster Tools:

  1. In your Bing Webmaster dashboard, click on your verified website

  2. In the left sidebar, go to Configure My Site → Sitemaps

  3. Click Submit Sitemap and enter your sitemap URL

  4. Click Submit

Bing will begin processing your sitemap and scheduling all your pages for crawling. Within a few days, your pages should start appearing in Bing's index and search results.

Step 5: Submit Individual URLs for Fast Indexing

Just like Google Search Console's URL Inspection tool, Bing has a URL Submission tool that lets you manually push specific pages into Bing's crawl queue for faster indexing.

  1. In your dashboard, go to Configure My Site → Submit URLs

  2. Enter up to 10 URLs per day, one per line

  3. Click Submit

Use this for your most important pages — your homepage, your top articles, and any newly published content you want indexed fast. It's especially useful right after launch when Bing hasn't yet crawled your site organically.

Step 6: Explore the Bing Webmaster Dashboard

Once your site is verified and sitemaps are submitted, take time to explore the features Bing Webmaster Tools offers:

  • Search Performance — See which keywords, pages, and countries bring you traffic on Bing

  • Crawl Reports — Find out which pages Bing has crawled and detect any errors

  • Backlinks — View external websites linking to yours, which is crucial for SEO authority

  • SEO Analyzer — Scans your pages and gives specific SEO improvement suggestions

  • Keyword Research Tool — Discover what people search for on Bing related to your niche

  • Site Scan — Automatically checks your entire site for common SEO issues

  • IndexNow Protocol — Bing supports the IndexNow API, which instantly notifies Bing whenever you publish or update content.

Step 7: Enable IndexNow for Automatic Instant Indexing

One powerful feature unique to Bing is IndexNow, a protocol that allows you to notify Bing instantly every time you publish or update a page — no manual URL submission required.

For WordPress users, the Yoast SEO and Rank Math plugins both support IndexNow out of the box. Simply enable the IndexNow setting in your SEO plugin, and every time you hit "Publish," Bing is automatically notified within seconds. This can dramatically speed up how quickly new content appears in Bing's search results compared to waiting for regular crawls.

How Long Until You Appear on Bing?

After completing all the steps, most websites begin appearing in Bing search results within 3 to 7 days. New domains with little authority may take up to 2–3 weeks. Publishing consistent, quality content and building backlinks from reputable sites will speed up the process and improve your rankings over time.

Setting up Bing Webmaster Tools alongside Google Search Console ensures your website is visible across both major search engines, maximizing your organic reach and giving you two independent streams of free search traffic.


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