COMPARISON
Bing Webmaster Tools vs. Google Search Console
Both tools are free, both are essential for technical SEO, and both are underused. BWT and GSC have significant feature overlap but notable differences especially around IndexNow, which only Bing natively supports.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Bing Webmaster Tools | Google Search Console |
|---|---|---|
| URL inspection tool | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| IndexNow integration | ✓ Native, built-in dashboard | ✗ No (Google uses Indexing API) |
| Sitemap submission | ✓ Yes, with processing status | ✓ Yes |
| Crawl statistics | ✓ Detailed daily crawl rate | ✓ Via Crawl Stats report |
| Manual URL submit | ✓ Request crawl | ✓ URL Inspection → Request indexing |
| Keyword data | ✓ Full keyword list with impressions/clicks | ✓ Full data (truncated for large sites) |
| Click data accuracy | Fewer queries but often cleaner data | |
| Mobile usability | ⚠️ Limited reporting | ✓ Detailed mobile issues |
| Rich result testing | ⚠️ Basic | ✓ Full rich result test suite |
Recommendation: Use Both
GSC handles the higher-traffic Google queries. BWT handles Bing which converts better in finance, B2B, and desktop-heavy niches where Bing's demographic skews older and more affluent.
The single biggest reason to invest in BWT in 2025: IndexNow. Bing's native IndexNow integration means you can submit and verify URL indexing in a single workflow something GSC still doesn't offer for most sites.