Google Search Console vs Bing Webmaster Tools [Latest Guide]

Google handled about 91% of search referrals worldwide in August 2026, and Bing about 4.5%. On desktop, Bing’s share climbs to roughly 9% (Source).

You operate a B2B site whose audience arrives from more than one search engine. This means that visibility is monitored in more than one console. AI-assisted search surfaces have widened the set of engines that route traffic to your site. Ignoring either console leaves a share of that traffic unmeasured.

Google Search Console vs Bing Webmaster Tools reports on Google’s index; Bing Webmaster Tools reports on Bing’s index and the Copilot surfaces that draw on it. The two are complements, not substitutes.

This guide will explain how the two consoles compare across features, indexing, and workflow.

1. Overview of Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a webmaster tool from Google. It reports on how your site appears in Google’s search index across devices.

a) Key Features

• Search Analytics – lets you see which queries bring traffic, impressions, clicks, and average position over time.
• URL Inspection – shows crawl, index and serving state per URL. It also lets you test live URLs in the tool.
• Sitemaps – lets you submit XML sitemaps and see coverage reports.
• Core Web Vitals monitoring – tracks page-experience metrics across mobile and desktop.
• Rich Results – reports on how your structured data is appearing in Google Search results.

A B2B operator using the Google console only sees the search performance and index state for the slice of traffic that arrives from Google.

b) Recent Updates

Google continues to consolidate the interface surfaces in Google Search Console. Legacy reports have been renamed, repurposed or retired over the past 12 months, including those for sitemaps.

Consult the Google Search Central release notes for the current list of report and API changes. You should watch for further consolidation of reporting views and changes to the index-coverage surface.

2. Overview of Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing Webmaster Tools is a webmaster tool from Microsoft. It reports on how your site appears in Bing’s search index across devices and the Copilot surfaces that draw on it.

a) Key Features

Reports on queries, impressions, clicks and average position across web search, news, images and videos, and Copilot responses.

• IndexNow – an open protocol that lets you push new or changed URLs to participating engines.
• Site Explorer – lets you see the structure of the site as Bing sees it, with clicks and impressions per page, and backlinks and crawl signals.
• Backlinks for any sites – the backlink view works also for sites you do not own, letting you monitor your competitors’ backlink profile.
• AI-traffic insights – reports on how your content appears across Bing’s AI-powered and Copilot surfaces.
• integration with Microsoft Clarity – user-behaviour analytics combined with the same site view.
• Bing Webmaster Tools API – programmatic access to queries, pages and backlinks.

IndexNow is the feature that separates Bing’s operational model most sharply from Google’s. The others share a first-party view of Bing’s AI surfaces and a way to query it at scale.

b) Recent Updates

Bing Webmaster Tools has been expanding the AI-traffic insights surface over the past 12 months. Its current name and feature set should be confirmed in the Microsoft documentation.

You should watch for changes to additional AI-surface reporting and to the Bing Webmaster Tools API feature set.

3. Comparing Key Features of Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools

The following sub-sections hold each feature family constant and show how Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools handle it. The differences between the two reflect the differences between Google Search Console Bing Webmaster traffic slice and the first-party view.

a) Search Performance and Analytics

The two consoles expose the same core metrics (clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position). The differences sit in the coverage of the data sources reported and the historical window.

The filtering and drill-down dimensions are the same. Google Search Console’s 16 months window is a known first-party retention policy. You should check the Bing console for its currently disclosed window. The differences Google Search Console Bing Webmaster analytics capability means that a B2B operator can set a weekly reporting cadence on the same metrics in both consoles.

b) URL Inspection and Indexing

Both consoles offer a per-URL URL Inspection feature. You can see the crawl, index and serving state for a URL and you can test it live in the tool.

The differences are most visible in the indexing model. Google Search Console uses a request-and-queue model. Bing Webmaster Tools supports IndexNow push.

The operational difference means that the URL submission and re-indexing model matters more for a site that publishes or edits content at a high frequency.

c) Unique Features

Google Search Console surfaces that are unique to it include the Core Web Vitals monitoring across mobile and desktop. The Rich Results reporting also stands apart as a surface for structured-data monitoring.

Bing Webmaster Tools exposes surfaces that are not available in Google Search Console, including the Site Explorer (per-page clicks and impressions, backlinks and crawl signals), the Backlinks for any sites view, the AI-traffic insights surface and the Bing Webmaster Tools API.

The unique sets in each console reflect the site-quality signals that each search engine exposes.

4. User Interface and Usability Comparison

The interface differences between the two consoles shape which team members can operate each console independently and how quickly a new user can find the key reporting surfaces.

a) Google Search Console

Google Search Console exposes core metrics on a small number of high-level dashboards. It exposes the reporting families (Search Analytics, URL Inspection, Sitemaps) in fewer navigation steps. Detail is behind per-report drill-downs.

The interface assumes familiarity with Google’s terminology (index coverage, page-experience signals, structured-data types).

b) Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing Webmaster Tools presents the core reporting, the site diagnostics and the keyword-research view from a single navigation. It adds surfaces for AI-traffic insights and for IndexNow controls.

The interface is organised around the operational task, not around the reporting family.

c) Key Takeaways

• Google Search Console’s assumption of prior knowledge means that SEO analysts can operate it with less onboarding.
• Bing Webmaster Tools’ navigation supports site-owners and growth-teams operating it end-to-end.

The compare webmaster tools features for businesses differences shape who can find the report or control independently.

5. How to Use Both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools for Comprehensive SEO

These are the points you should keep in mind:

• Verifying your site in both consoles is the starting point. You can import from Google Search Console into Bing Webmaster Tools to jumpstart the view.
• Set the reporting cadence and you should check both dashboards on the same weekly rhythm. Watch the data freshness on the Bing side and watch the 16-month window on the Google side.
• Use IndexNow on every publish and every meaningful edit, and use URL Inspection on the Google side to confirm the index state where it matters.
• Pull data programmatically where the volume justifies it. The Bing Webmaster Tools API returns position and CTR per query and per page.
• The cadence keeps both traffic slices under measurement. It lets you audit which console reports on which slice of your site’s search performance.

6. How We Use Both Tools on Client Sites?

Our monthly check has three parts. We compare top queries across Google and Bing, then fix indexing gaps in whichever tool flags them first. Last, we look at Bing’s AI Performance to see which pages Copilot cites.

• A query ranks on Bing but not Google: the page likely lacks links or depth, so it goes on the content refresh list.
• A URL indexed on Google but missing on Bing: check robots rules for bingbot and confirm IndexNow is firing.
• Copilot cites a page with weak Google traffic: the answer-first section is working, so we tighten the title and meta for Google.

For KnowledgeHut, we delivered 12-15 SEO blogs a month and tracked indexing and rankings through Search Console. Traffic grew from 278k visitors in April 2022 to 2M+ by September 2023, with 13k+ keywords in Google’s top 3 (Source).

Clients rate this work 4.6/5 across our verified Clutch reviews.

FAQs

Is there a Bing search console?

Yes. Bing’s version is called Bing Webmaster Tools. It’s free, and it covers performance, indexing, backlinks, keyword research, and AI citations.

Is Bing Webmaster Tools worth it if Google sends most of my traffic?

Yes. Setup takes minutes with the Search Console import, and you get IndexNow, keyword research, and Copilot citation data at no cost.

Can I import my site from Google Search Console into Bing?

You can. Bing Webmaster Tools pulls in your verified sites and sitemaps after you authorize your Google account, so you don’t have to verify again.

Does Google support IndexNow?

No. IndexNow works with Bing, Yandex, Seznam, and a few other engines. Google still relies on sitemaps and its own crawl scheduling.

Which webmaster tools should a new site set up first: Google Search Console or Bing?

Start with Google Search Console, then import it into the Bing search console the same day. Submit your sitemap in both.

Conclusion

Google Search Console tells you how Google sees your site. The Bing search console covers the desktop and Copilot audience Google data can’t show, and it adds IndexNow, keyword research, and backlink comparisons for free.

Set up both, submit the same sitemap, and review them side by side each month.

Want your Search Console and Bing data turned into an SEO plan? Talk to Content Whale’s SEO team.