SOP 288: Set Up, Verify, and Optimize Bing Webmaster Tools on a WordPress Site
Last Updated / Reviewed: 11/13/2025
Execution Time: 15–25 minutes
🚀 Goal: Verify ownership in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit the sitemap, and complete core optimizations for indexing and monitoring.
🤞 Ideal Outcome: The site is verified in Bing, the sitemap is accepted, priority URLs are submitted, alerts are enabled, and no robots.txt blocks exist.
🤔 Why this is important: This ensures Bing can discover, crawl, and index your content while notifying you about issues early.
🧐 Where this is done Bing Webmaster Tools (bing.com/webmasters) and the live website (public URLs).
🗓️ When this is done: During onboarding or after site/domain changes; run QA 48 hours later.
👨 Who does this: SEO specialist or web operations with access to Bing Webmaster Tools matching a Google Search Console property.
__⚠️Prerequisites or requirements: __A Google or Microsoft account with access to Bing Webmaster Tools matching a Google Search Console property.
Click here to get the most up-to-date version of this SOP
Pre-check canonical URL, sitemap, and robots.txt
Before setting up Bing Webmaster Tools, verify that your site's public URLs, sitemap, and robots.txt files are functioning correctly. This ensures Bing can index your content, and you’ll verify the right canonical domain.Note:
- Canonical URL: The “main” version of your website URL (e.g., https://example.com vs. https://www.example.com). Helps avoid duplicate content issues.
- Sitemap: A file (usually sitemap.xml) that lists all important pages for search engines.
- robots.txt: A file that tells search engines which pages or folders they’re allowed (or not allowed) to crawl.
01▸ Open the website in your browser, e.g. https://example.com.
Try typing both versions:
-
- https://example.com
- https://www.example.com
- Also test http:// (without the “s”).
02▸ Observe the final URL (protocol and host). See which one automatically redirects to another. The one you end up on is your canonical URL (the preferred version).
Note whether it resolves to "https://" and if it includes "www" or not. Check the browser address bar to confirm the final format, such as "https://www.yourdomain.com/" or "https://yourdomain.com/".
03▸ Right-click anywhere → click "View page source".
04▸ Press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac), then search for: <link rel="canonical".>
05▸ Open https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml.
You should see XML entries starting with and links to your posts, pages, or site sections.
06▸ If 404, open https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml.
Confirm it loads without error and lists sub‑sitemaps such as "page-sitemap.xml" or "post-sitemap.xml".
07▸ Open https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt.
Look for lines like "User-agent: *" and "Disallow:". Make sure there’s no "Disallow: /" or rule blocking "User-agent: Bingbot". You should see crawl directives allowing Bingbot or all user‑agents to access your main paths.
Import and verify site in Bing Webmaster Tools
Import your site directly from Google Search Console (GSC) to Bing Webmaster Tools to verify ownership instantly. No file or DNS edits needed.
01▸ Visit bing.com/webmasters and sign in with your Google account.
02▸ Click "Import" and "Continue".
03▸ Authorize Google Search Console access with the correct Google account.
04▸ Select the GSC property matching the canonical URL and click "Import". Click "Done" to proceed. This takes 48 hours to reflect.
Make sure the property matches exactly, e.g., https://www.yourdomain.com/ vs https://yourdomain.com/.
05▸ Come back 48 hours later to verify if your domain has been "Verified".
06▸ Meanwhile, to speed up the indexing process, you may begin to submit your sitemap by using the "Sitemaps" feature.
Submit sitemap in Bing Webmaster Tools
Submitting your sitemap tells Bing where to find and crawl all your key pages. This helps Bing discover new or updated content from your WordPress site faster.
01▸ Click "Sitemaps" in the left navigation, then "Submit sitemap".
02▸ Paste the full sitemap URL in the "Enter sitemap" field. Click "Submit".
Use the URL found earlier, such as https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml. If that has an error 404, try https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml.
03▸ Confirm sitemap status shows "Success" or "Pending". If you see an error, check the URL and resubmit. Reports may take up to 24 hours to populate, so it’s normal if discovered URLs display later.
Run basic optimization and health checks
Use Bing Webmaster Tools to check your site's crawl health, submit priority pages, and enable alerts so you catch issues early. These checks help Bing index your key WordPress pages faster and keep you informed of any crawl or indexing problems.
01▸ Open "URL Inspection" and paste your full homepage URL. Run the inspection to see Bing’s last crawl, index status, and any detected issues such as blocked resources. You should see “Crawled successfully” or similar, along with the latest crawl date.
02▸ Open "Site Scan" and click "Start new scan".
03▸ Enter scan name, scope, homepage URL and submit 3-5 page URLs. Tick the box under "Communication" to receive email notifications for crawl errors and site issues. Click "Start Scan".
The page should show confirmation that Bing accepted the submission. Indexing often updates within a few hours.
Note: Add key pages such as "Contact," "About," and main service or product pages. Each should confirm submission success before closing the panel.
04▸ Under "Configuration", open "Crawl Control" and set time preferences. Here, ensure "System default" and "Default" are selected. Click "Save changes".
05▸ Under "Tools & Enhancements", open "Robots.txt Tester" and test a key URL as "Bingbot". Click "Test" and you should see the result with no blocking directive.
48 hours later - quick QA in Bing Webmaster Tools
Check that Bing has started crawling and indexing your WordPress site correctly after verification and sitemap submission. This brief follow-up confirms Bing can discover your pages as expected.