Today we're going to be talking about why your traffic has flatlined in Bing Webmaster Tools. There are a few reasons why this could happen and we're going to chat through some ways that you could troubleshoot this to try and fix the problem.
The first thing you could try, which seems obvious but can be missed, or it may have been submitted but not read, is to submit your sitemap. When submitting your sitemap, make sure it is the correct spelling and the correct sitemap.
You may have installed a different plugin and it's wrong, so double check that it is spelt 100 per cent correctly. This is similar to the sitemap issues you might encounter in Google Search Console.
If you're using WordPress, you might want to check out our guide on the best SEO plugins for WordPress to ensure you're using the right tools for sitemap generation.
Then you want to check the last crawl date. Sometimes you can put your sitemap in here, come back months later and notice that it has not been crawled for ages.
If that's the case, you want to go back in and request a recrawl.
The next method I would recommend is turning on IndexNow. IndexNow is a feature that can be used with a bunch of tools like WordPress, Wix or other CMS softwares, and basically it is an API that allows your URL to be submitted in real time.
You're getting more up to date URLs within Bing Webmaster Tools. You're telling it, "Hey, I've done this page, can you please index it immediately?" In plain English, that means can you crawl it for the content.
If you're on Squarespace or Shopify, check your platform's documentation on how to enable IndexNow.
If you've done all of this and you come back (by the way, you need to take some time between doing all of these checks to see if it's made a difference), if you come back and see that it's still pretty flatlined, there's maybe none or a couple of impressions, you can go to URL inspection for a handful of pages.
Once you're in there, you select request indexing. You can do this for a bunch of pages and then after that, come back and see if those particular pages have been indexed.
It could be the case where there is a problem with one of your pages. There is something on it that Bing bot does not like, for example JavaScript or a pop-up, or it could be a problem with all of the pages. It's good to narrow that down as well through this method.
If you notice your impressions have dropped significantly, you might also want to read our guide on why your Google Search Console impressions have plummeted, as many of the principles apply to Bing as well.
If none of those work and you've done an update on your site and fixed technical SEO errors, make sure Bing bot is not blocked.
Check in your robots.txt that Bing bot is not blocked. Normally you wouldn't block this, but if it's a new website, perhaps all of the site has been blocked from indexing and now you've launched the site and you want it to be crawled. Make sure Bing bot is not blocked.
Another reason why Bing doesn't want to index you could be that your site doesn't follow Bing's webmaster guidelines. You should make sure your site does follow these guidelines, as this could be another reason why Bing doesn't want to index you.
The guidelines cover things like quality content, avoiding deceptive practices, and ensuring your site is accessible to search engines. You can find Bing's webmaster guidelines here: https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmasters-guidelines-30fba23a
If you're still having issues, it might be worth running a comprehensive SEO site audit to identify any underlying technical issues that could be preventing Bing from crawling and indexing your pages properly.
You can use some of the top SEO tools to help identify indexing issues and SEO optimisations that impact rankings.
If you've tried all of these methods and you're still struggling, it might be time to consider getting professional help. Our SEO services can help diagnose and fix complex indexing issues. We also offer SEO consulting if you need expert guidance on your specific situation.
If you've tested all of those methods, the next thing you can do is submit an inquiry to Bing support.
Bing is very hard to get in touch with. They don't want to answer emails; often the email bounces when you contact them. This is the link where you can submit a ticket and they'll get back to you via email about what the problem is.
From my experience, they often get back and say the issue has now been fixed, but they don't tell you what the issue is. In that case, you can wait a couple of weeks and see if in fact impressions pick up and the issue has been fixed.
If not, there are instances where I have had to submit multiple tickets just to try and get an issue looked at where a whole site has flatlined in terms of impressions.
Go to the link shared and then 'Webmaster Support', after scroll down past the FAQs and select the button 'raise support request'
Hope you found this useful. If you can, leave a comment below if that helped you out.
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