Every blog should set up Google Search Console first, because Google sends most search visits. Add Bing Webmaster Tools next if you want a second view of your site, quick indexing through IndexNow, and a few extra reports for free. Both are free, and Bing Webmaster Tools can import your sites from Search Console in minutes.
Pick Google Search Console if
You can only set up one tool. It shows how the search engine most of your readers use sees your site, and it is where Google tells you about problems.
Add Bing Webmaster Tools if
You want a second opinion on indexing, a way to tell search engines about new pages at once, and free reports on links and keywords.
Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools at a glance #
Both tools are free dashboards from the search engines themselves. You prove you own the site, and they show you how their search engine crawls, indexes and shows your pages. The table sets them side by side.
| Point | Google Search Console | Bing Webmaster Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Every site, as the first tool to set up | A second view, and quick indexing |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Main strength | Data from the search engine most readers use | Extra free reports and IndexNow support |
| Main limit | Shows Google data only, with no keyword ideas | Smaller search audience, so less data on a small site |
| Proving you own the site | DNS record, HTML file, meta tag and other ways | DNS record, XML file, meta tag, or import from Search Console |
| Search data | Clicks, impressions, click rate and position | Clicks, impressions, click rate and position |
| Indexing tools | Page indexing report, sitemaps, URL inspection | Index reports, sitemaps, URL inspection, IndexNow |
| Extras | Core Web Vitals report, links report, manual actions | Backlink data, keyword research, a site scan |
Where Google Search Console wins #
It shows the search engine your readers use most. Google holds by far the larger share of search, so for most blogs its data covers most of the people who find you through search. If a post drops, this is where the drop shows up first.
Google tells you about problems here. If Google takes a manual action against a page, or finds a security issue such as hacked content, it reports it in Search Console. There is no other place to get that notice from Google.
Its page indexing report explains why a page is left out. For each page Google knows about but does not index, the report gives a reason, such as a Noindex tag, a redirect or a duplicate. You can then fix the cause and ask Google to check again.
It reports Core Web Vitals from real visits. The report groups your pages by how fast they load and respond for real Chrome users. Our post on Core Web Vitals explained for writers explains what each one means.
You can check every point above in Google's own overview of the tool.
Where Bing Webmaster Tools wins #
It supports IndexNow. IndexNow is an open way to tell search engines that a page is new, changed or gone, the moment it happens. Bing and several other engines take part. Google Search does not use IndexNow, so this is a reason to use Bing's tool, not a reason to drop Google's.
It imports your sites from Search Console. If you already use Google's tool, you can sign in, choose import, and your verified sites and sitemaps come across. There is no new file or DNS record to add.
It shows links from other sites for free. The backlinks report lists sites that link to yours, with the pages and the link words. A Backlink report like this usually needs a paid tool.
It has a free keyword research tool. You can look up how often people search a phrase on Bing and see related phrases. The numbers are Bing's own, so treat them as a rough guide to demand, not as the whole market.
Its data reaches past Bing. Bing's index also powers some other search services, so the indexing problems it shows you can affect more than Bing alone.
Microsoft lists the features on the Bing Webmaster Tools about page.
Which one to choose #
A new blog with little time. Set up Google's tool this week and nothing else yet. Our 15 minute setup guide walks you through it, step by step.
A blog that publishes often. Add Bing Webmaster Tools and turn on IndexNow, through your platform or a plugin, so new posts get found the day they go live.
A blog with no budget for paid tools. Use both. Lean on Google for search data and indexing, and on Bing Webmaster Tools for links and keyword ideas. Together they cover much of what a paid suite gives a small site.
A team that must explain results to a client. Report from Search Console, and check Bing Webmaster Tools once a month for problems Google's tool did not show.
How we compared them #
Tomas Lindqvist, our technical SEO lead, has used both tools on Larkspur's own site and on client sites since 2024. Dalia Moreno checked every point in the table against each tool's own pages in September 2026.
We compared only features that both search engines document and that a small blog would use:
| What we checked | How we checked it |
|---|---|
| Features | Each tool's own help pages, read in September 2026 |
| Setup | Adding and verifying a test site in each tool |
| Daily use | Two years of use on our own site and client sites |
| Accuracy | A second editor checked every row of the table |
We did not compare numbers between the two tools, because each one counts clicks and impressions in its own way. We do not take payment from Google or Microsoft, and neither saw this post before it went live. You can read the rules our editors follow in full.
Features change. If you find a point in this post that is no longer true, write to our editors and we will fix it.
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