Today, Google is the acknowledged leader in internet searches. Digital marketers and creators of SEO content tend to focus on working with Google’s algorithms to increase rankings. Because Bing and Yahoo do not have the same prominence, many question whether it is worthwhile to be concerned about one’s rankings with these search engines.
There are several issues to think about when considering rankings on Yahoo and Bing. While it can make sense for some, others may realize they won’t receive the return they want on such an investment.
Will Ranking Higher on Yahoo and Bing Increase Your Reach?
The first question business owners often have when discussing Yahoo and Bing rankings is whether targeting their efforts this way will actually bring them more customers. According to a 2021 report, Google accounts for 86.6% of the global search market whereas Bing accounts for 6.7%. Bing and other search engines it powers, such as Yahoo, come in second place. So while most site visitors arrive via Google search, a company may also decide to increase the number of views by ranking on other search engines depending on where their site traffic primarily comes from.
Who Uses Yahoo and Bing?
Optimizing for Yahoo and Bing can help you increase your potential customer base by a relatively small share. Next, you’ll need to determine if searchers are likely to be people interested in your products.
According to Forbes, whether someone uses Bing can depends primarily on his or her age and location. Older people over the age of 50 are more likely to use an older search engine like Yahoo, as they have a greater tendency to stick with the familiar. They are also more likely to use Internet Explorer, where Bing is the default search engine. Bing and Yahoo also tend to be more popular in the Midwest and in the Southern states rather than the coasts. If your target demographic includes these regions or people over 50, optimizing for Yahoo and Bing may well be worthwhile.
What Does Optimization for Yahoo and Bing Entail?
If you determine that increasing your Bing ranking is likely to benefit your business, you may want to know how this type of optimization differs from that you need to do for Google. Optimization for Bing and Yahoo is basically the same, as Yahoo is powered by Bing and uses the same ranking algorithms.
SEO is a major factor in Bing rankings, necessitating the use of exact keywords. Keyword density still plays a major role, as do meta keyword tags. Other major ranking factors include user engagement, whether a page is connected to social media accounts, the presence of external links and how long a site has been up. Older sites rank higher than new ones. In addition, geographic proximity to the searcher can also result in a higher ranking.
The major difference between optimizing for Google and Bing is the role of keywords. Google has progressively updated its algorithms to demote sites that use keyword stuffing. Because Bing does not have these intuitive algorithms, increased keyword density helps rather than hinders optimization for Yahoo and Bing.
Unlike Google, which frequently updates its algorithms, Bing tends to keep its ranking system fairly steady. Once you perform optimization for Bing, you are likely not have to keep adjusting it. Thus, optimizing for Bing can represent a smaller investment.
Boostability Can Help Optimize Your SEO for Google Search
At Boostability, we prioritize optimizing websites and SEO strategies based on Google’s algorithms. This is where the global market share is, and therefore, where you can see the highest SEO ROI. Google also sets the standard for algorithm updates where most other search engines apply to their algorithms as well.
If you’re interested in learning more about what we can do to help boost your business, visit our small business SEO services page to get a better understanding of who we work with and what kind of results we’ve been able to generate for our clients!