Most new bloggers set up Google Search Console and stop there. That makes sense, because Google sends most search traffic. But Google is not the only search engine. People also search on Bing, and Microsoft's Copilot uses Bing to find web results. If Bing does not know about your posts, you are leaving free visitors behind.
The good news is that Bing has its own free dashboard for site owners called Bing Webmaster Tools. In this beginner's guide you will learn how to add your Blogger (BlogSpot) blog to it, verify that you own the blog, submit your sitemap, and ask Bing to look at your newest posts. It is free and takes about 15 minutes.
What Is Bing Webmaster Tools?
Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft's version of Google Search Console. It shows you how Bing sees your blog and gives you tools to help Bing find your pages. Once your blog is added, you can:
- See how many times your posts appeared in Bing search and how many clicks they got.
- Submit your sitemap so Bing can discover all your posts.
- Submit new or updated post links directly to Bing.
- Check whether a page is indexed and spot crawl problems.
Bing's help pages note that after you add a site, it usually takes about 48 hours before analytics and data start to appear, so do not worry if the dashboard looks empty on the first day.
Before You Start
Have these ready:
- Your blog address, for example
https://yourblog.blogspot.com, or your custom domain if you use one. - Access to the Blogger account that owns the blog.
- Ideally, your blog already verified in Google Search Console. If you have not done that yet, follow our guide on how to add Google Search Console to Blogger first. It makes the Bing setup much faster.
Step 1: Sign In to Bing Webmaster Tools
- Open bing.com/webmasters in your browser.
- Click Sign in.
- Sign in with one of the account options shown. Using the same Google account you use for Blogger keeps things simple.
On a phone, the dashboard works in Chrome, but some buttons are easier to find if you switch on Desktop site from the browser menu.
Step 2: Add Your Blog (Two Ways)
Bing gives you two ways to add a site. Pick the one that fits you.
Option A: Import from Google Search Console (easiest)
If your blog is already verified in Google Search Console, this is the quickest method. Bing's help page explains that imported sites are verified automatically and their sitemaps come along too.
- On the welcome screen (or the My Sites page), click Import under "Import your sites from GSC".
- Sign in with the Google account that owns your Search Console property.
- Click Allow to let Bing Webmaster Tools read your list of verified sites and sitemaps.
- Tick your blog in the list and click Import.
Your blog is now added and verified, with no code to paste. Bing re-checks your Search Console access from time to time, so do not remove that permission later, or you will need to verify again another way.
Option B: Add your blog manually
If you do not use Search Console, or the import does not show your blog, add it by hand:
- Under "Add your site manually", type your full blog address, including
https://. - Click Add.
- Bing now asks you to prove that you own the blog. Continue to Step 3.
Step 3: Verify Your Blogger Blog With the Meta Tag
Bing offers several verification methods, including uploading an XML file, adding a meta tag, or adding a DNS record. Blogger does not let you upload files to the main folder of your blog, so the meta tag method is the best choice for most BlogSpot users. (If you use a custom domain, the DNS/CNAME option also works through your domain provider.)
- In Bing Webmaster Tools, choose HTML Meta Tag and click Copy. The tag looks like this:
<meta name="msvalidate.01" content="YOUR-CODE" /> - In a new tab, open Blogger and click Theme in the left menu.
- Click the small arrow next to Customize and choose Edit HTML.
- Find the opening
<head>tag near the top of the code. Click at the end of that line and press Enter to make a new line. - Paste the meta tag on the new line. Make sure it ends with
/>. Blogger themes are strict, and a tag without the closing slash can cause an error. - Click the Save (disk) icon.
- Go back to Bing Webmaster Tools and click Verify.
Tip: before editing your theme, click the arrow next to Customize on the Theme page and choose Backup to download a copy, so you can restore it if anything goes wrong.
If verification fails, open your blog, right-click and choose View page source (on a phone, type view-source: before your blog address). Search for msvalidate. If you cannot find it, the tag was not saved. Paste it again and save.
Step 4: Submit Your Blogger Sitemap
A sitemap is a list of your blog's pages that helps search engines find them. Blogger creates one for you automatically. If you imported from Search Console, your sitemap may already be listed. If not, add it:
- In Bing Webmaster Tools, click Sitemaps in the left menu.
- Click Submit sitemap.
- Enter
https://yourblog.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml(replace with your blog address) and click Submit. - Repeat with
https://yourblog.blogspot.com/sitemap-pages.xmlto include your static pages, such as About and Contact.
Bing's help says it accepts XML sitemaps, RSS and Atom feeds, and plain text files. The standard Blogger sitemap.xml is all a beginner needs. Bing can also find sitemaps listed in your robots.txt file. To learn more about how Blogger's robots.txt and sitemap work together, read our guide on setting robots.txt and sitemap on BlogSpot.
Step 5: Submit New Posts With URL Submission
When you publish an important new post, you do not have to wait for Bing to find it. You can tell Bing about it directly:
- Click URL Submission in the left menu.
- Click Submit URLs.
- Paste the full link of your new post. If you have several, put one link on each line.
- Click Submit.
Bing's help page says the manual tool allows up to 10,000 URLs per domain per day and resets at midnight UTC (1 AM in Nigeria), although Bing also notes that quotas can change, so check the number shown in your own account. Two important points:
- Submitting does not guarantee indexing. Bing may choose not to index pages that do not meet its quality standards.
- Submitting the same link again and again does not speed things up. Submit each new or updated post once.
Also, only submit the main version of each link. Skip the mobile copies that end in ?m=1, label pages and search pages.
You may also see IndexNow in the menu. It is Bing's recommended automatic method, but it requires hosting a key file on your site, which Blogger does not support. For most BlogSpot bloggers, the sitemap plus manual URL Submission is enough.
Step 6: Check Your Results
After a few days, explore these sections:
- Search Performance: shows clicks, impressions and the search words people used to find you on Bing.
- URL Inspection: paste a post link to see whether Bing has indexed it.
- Site Explorer: shows how Bing sees the pages and folders on your blog.
Many indexing problems are similar on Google and Bing. If you see pages that are not indexed, our article on fixing indexing issues in Google Search Console explains common causes that also apply here.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Typing the wrong address. If you use a custom domain, add the custom domain, not the old blogspot.com address.
- Pasting the meta tag in the wrong place. It must go inside the
<head>section, not in a post or gadget. - Removing the tag after verification. Keep the meta tag in your theme so Bing can keep confirming ownership.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bing Webmaster Tools free?
Yes. It is completely free to use for any site you own, including free blogspot.com blogs.
Do I still need Google Search Console?
Yes. The two tools work separately. Google Search Console helps with Google, and Bing Webmaster Tools helps with Bing. Using both gives your blog the best chance to be found.
Final Thoughts
Adding your Blogger blog to Bing Webmaster Tools is a small job with a long-term benefit. Sign in, import your blog from Google Search Console or add it manually and verify it with the meta tag, submit your sitemap.xml, and use URL Submission for each new post. Then check Search Performance every week or two to see what readers are searching for.
If your Bing Webmaster Tools screen looks different from these steps, leave a comment and describe what you see. At Sam Trend Hub on GOJIST, we keep beginner BlogSpot guides practical for bloggers in Nigeria and across Africa.
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