Bing Keyword Planner: A Complete Guide

The Bing Keyword Planner is a free, powerful tool integrated within Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) that helps advertisers and SEO professionals discover new keywords, analyze their search volume, assess competition levels, and forecast performance for both organic search and paid campaigns on the Bing search engine. It provides critical data like monthly searches, competition, and suggested bids, enabling users to strategically target audiences searching on Bing, Yahoo, and the broader Microsoft Search Network.

As the founder of ProMapRanker, a geo-grid local rank tracker and Google Business Profile audit tool, I understand the critical role keyword research plays in digital visibility. While Google often dominates the conversation, neglecting Bing means overlooking a significant segment of online searchers. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about harnessing the power of the Bing Keyword Planner to drive both paid and organic traffic.

What is Bing Keyword Planner, and Why is it Important for Your Business?

The Bing Keyword Planner is a complimentary keyword research tool provided by Microsoft Advertising, designed to help users identify relevant search terms, understand their performance metrics, and plan effective search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) strategies for the Microsoft Search Network. Its importance stems from Bing's substantial, albeit often underestimated, market share and distinct user demographic, offering unique opportunities for businesses.

While Google holds the dominant position in search, Bing commands a significant portion of the market, especially in certain demographics and regions. According to StatCounter GlobalStats, Bing consistently maintains a global search engine market share of around 3-6%, which translates to billions of searches monthly. For specific niches or older demographics, Bing's usage can be even higher. Ignoring Bing means missing out on potential customers who use search engines like Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo, all powered by Microsoft's search technology. The Bing Keyword Planner provides the data necessary to tap into this audience, helping you uncover keywords with less competition or lower advertising costs compared to Google, ultimately diversifying your traffic sources and potentially improving your return on investment.

How Do You Access and Navigate the Bing Keyword Planner?

Accessing the Bing Keyword Planner requires a Microsoft account and a Microsoft Advertising account, even if you don't plan to run paid campaigns immediately. Once logged into your Microsoft Advertising account, the tool is typically found under the "Tools" or "Planning" section in the main navigation menu, offering a user-friendly interface for keyword discovery and analysis.

To begin, ensure you have a Microsoft account. If you don't, you can create one for free. Next, sign up for a Microsoft Advertising account at ads.microsoft.com. You don't need to set up a campaign or provide billing information right away if your primary goal is organic keyword research, but having the account is the gateway. Once logged in, navigate to the top menu. You'll usually find the Keyword Planner under Tools > Keyword Planner. The interface is intuitive, featuring options to "Find keywords," "Get search volume for keywords," and "Plan your campaign." This streamlined design helps users quickly jump into their desired research task without unnecessary complexity.

What are the Core Features of Bing Keyword Planner?

The Bing Keyword Planner offers several core features crucial for effective keyword research: keyword discovery, search volume and trend analysis, competition assessment, and bid estimates. These functionalities empower users to identify new opportunities, understand keyword popularity over time, gauge the difficulty of ranking, and estimate potential advertising costs for paid campaigns.

Let's break down these essential features:

Find keywords: This is your starting point for brainstorming. You can enter a product or service, a website URL, or a specific category. The tool then generates a list of related keyword ideas, expanding your potential target terms. For instance, if you enter "local SEO for plumbers," it might suggest "plumbing marketing," "emergency plumber near me," or "drain cleaning services." This feature is excellent for discovering long-tail keywords or terms you hadn't considered.
Get search volume for keywords: If you already have a list of keywords, you can upload or paste them into the planner to get precise search volume data. This includes average monthly searches over the last 12 months, providing a clear picture of how popular each term is on the Microsoft Search Network.
Historical statistics & trends: Beyond current volume, the tool shows how search interest for a keyword has changed over time. This is invaluable for identifying seasonal trends (e.g., "HVAC repair" searches spike in summer and winter) or long-term shifts in consumer behavior. Understanding these trends helps you time your content and ad campaigns effectively.
Competition: For each keyword, Bing Keyword Planner indicates the level of competition (Low, Medium, High). This metric primarily reflects advertiser competition for paid ads, but it can also offer insights into organic difficulty. High competition often means more advertisers are bidding on the term, potentially indicating its commercial value.
Suggested bids: For those planning PPC campaigns, the tool provides estimated top-of-page and first-page bids. These are crucial for budgeting and understanding the cost-per-click (CPC) you might expect to pay to rank prominently in Bing Ads.
Location and language targeting: You can refine your keyword research by specific geographical locations (countries, states, cities) and languages. This is particularly useful for local businesses aiming to target customers in a defined service area. For a local business, understanding search volume specifically for "plumber in Seattle" rather than just "plumber" is vital.

How to Effectively Use Bing Keyword Planner for SEO?

To effectively use Bing Keyword Planner for SEO, focus on discovering high-volume, low-competition keywords relevant to your niche, analyzing search trends for content planning, and understanding user intent specific to the Bing audience. This data helps optimize website content, meta descriptions, and title tags for better organic visibility on the Microsoft Search Network.

Here's a detailed approach for SEO:

Keyword Discovery and Expansion: Start by entering broad terms related to your business or industry into the "Find keywords" section. Bing will return a list of related keywords, including long-tail variations. Pay close attention to keywords with moderate to high search volume and relatively low competition. These often represent untapped opportunities. For example, if you sell artisanal coffee, beyond "coffee beans," you might discover "sustainable single-origin coffee" or "ethically sourced coffee online." This process is similar to using a tool for finding keyword ranking for a website, but focused on discovery.
Analyze Search Volume and Trends: Once you have a list of potential keywords, examine their average monthly searches and historical trends. This helps you prioritize keywords that consistently attract traffic or show growth. For seasonal businesses, understanding trend data is paramount to timing content releases, such as a "best summer vacation spots" article published in early spring.
Gauge Competition (Organically): While the competition metric in Bing Keyword Planner primarily indicates paid advertiser competition, it can indirectly signal organic difficulty. Keywords with "Low" paid competition might also be easier to rank for organically, as fewer businesses are actively targeting them. Conversely, "High" competition suggests a valuable term, but one that will require more robust SEO efforts to rank for.
Understand User Intent: Analyze the suggested keywords to infer what users are truly looking for. Are they seeking information (informational intent), trying to buy something (commercial intent), or looking for a specific website (navigational intent)? Tailor your content to match this intent. A search for "how to fix a leaky faucet" requires a blog post, while "emergency plumber Seattle" demands a service page with clear contact information.
Content Planning and Optimization: Use the discovered keywords to inform your content strategy. Create blog posts, landing pages, and product descriptions that naturally incorporate these terms. Remember to optimize not just the body text, but also your title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags (`
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`) to clearly signal your content's relevance to search engines. For local businesses, ensuring your Google Business Profile is optimized is also crucial; check out our guide on how to optimize your GBP for local SEO.
Local SEO Applications: Bing Keyword Planner allows you to filter results by location, which is invaluable for local businesses. Search for keywords combined with city names or "near me" variations. This helps you discover localized search demand. For instance, a plumber in Minneapolis would look for "plumber Minneapolis" or "Minneapolis plumbing services." This data complements tools like ProMapRanker, which provides geo-grid rankings to see your actual local visibility across specific service areas, helping you understand how well your content performs for those localized keywords.

How to Use Bing Keyword Planner for Paid Advertising (Microsoft Advertising)?

For paid advertising on Microsoft Advertising, Bing Keyword Planner is indispensable for building targeted campaigns, estimating budgets, and optimizing bids. It helps identify keywords with high commercial intent, assess their cost-effectiveness, and discover negative keywords to prevent wasted ad spend, ensuring your ads reach the most relevant audience.

Here’s how to leverage it for your PPC strategy:

Campaign and Ad Group Structuring: Use the keyword ideas generated by the planner to group highly related terms into specific ad groups. For instance, all keywords related to "emergency plumbing services" would go into one ad group, while "water heater repair" would go into another. This ensures your ad copy is highly relevant to the keywords that trigger it, improving Quality Score and click-through rates.
Budgeting and Bidding Strategy: The "Suggested bid" and "Top of page bid" estimates are critical for setting realistic budgets. These figures help you understand the cost-per-click (CPC) for different keywords, allowing you to allocate your budget effectively. You can prioritize keywords that offer a good balance of search volume, competition, and affordability. Remember that these are estimates; actual bids can vary based on competition and Quality Score.
Identifying High-Intent Keywords: Focus on keywords with clear commercial intent, such as "buy [product name]," "[service] near me," or "best [product] reviews." These keywords indicate a user closer to making a purchase or seeking a service, leading to higher conversion rates for your ad campaigns.
Negative Keywords: Just as important as finding relevant keywords is identifying irrelevant ones. The Bing Keyword Planner may suggest terms that are tangentially related but not what your business offers (e.g., if you sell new cars, "used car parts" could appear). Add these to your negative keyword list to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches, saving you money and improving ad performance.
Forecasting Performance: The planner allows you to create a plan by adding keywords and then estimates potential clicks, impressions, and costs based on your budget and bid settings. This forecasting feature helps you anticipate campaign performance and make data-driven decisions before launching your ads.
Geographical Targeting for Local Ads: For businesses relying on local customers, using the location filter in the Keyword Planner is vital. Target keywords specific to your service area (e.g., "dentist Chicago" or "pizza delivery Brooklyn"). This ensures your ad budget is spent reaching potential customers within your operational radius, which is particularly effective when combined with local rank tracking like ProMapRanker's Google Maps rank tracker.

Bing Keyword Planner vs. Google Keyword Planner: A Comparison

While both Bing and Google Keyword Planners serve similar functions, they differ primarily in the search network data they provide, user interface nuances, and the specific audience insights they offer. Google's tool typically reflects a larger search volume due to its market dominance, whereas Bing's planner offers data for a distinct, often less competitive, segment of searchers.

Understanding these differences is key to a comprehensive keyword strategy:

Feature/Aspect	Bing Keyword Planner (Microsoft Advertising)	Google Keyword Planner (Google Ads)
Primary Data Source	Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and other Microsoft Search Network partners.	Google Search Network.
Search Volume Data	Reflects Bing's search volume, generally lower than Google but accurate for its network. Can reveal niche opportunities.	Reflects Google's search volume, typically much higher. Shows broad market demand.
Audience Demographics	Often associated with slightly older, more desktop-oriented users. Specific demographics can vary.	Broader and more diverse user base, reflecting general internet usage trends.
Competition Metric	Indicates advertiser competition on the Microsoft Search Network (Low, Medium, High).	Indicates advertiser competition on Google Ads (Low, Medium, High).
Suggested Bids (PPC)	Generally lower CPCs compared to Google for similar keywords, reflecting less competition.	Typically higher CPCs due to intense competition among advertisers.
User Interface	Clean, straightforward, and easy to navigate.	Feature-rich but can feel slightly more complex for beginners.
Integration	Integrated with Microsoft Advertising campaigns.	Integrated with Google Ads campaigns.
Best For	Diversifying traffic, finding lower-cost PPC opportunities, targeting Bing's unique audience, local SEO on Bing.	Dominant market research, high-volume keyword discovery, broad SEO and PPC strategy.

While Google's tool provides insights into the largest search market, Bing's planner should not be overlooked. Many businesses find that traffic from Bing users can be highly engaged and convert well, often at a lower cost-per-click for paid campaigns. Using both tools provides a holistic view of the keyword landscape, allowing you to capture a wider audience and optimize for different search engine ecosystems. This dual-pronged approach is particularly beneficial for local businesses, where visibility on all platforms, including Bing Maps, contributes to overall discoverability.

Practical Step-by-Step: Conducting Keyword Research with Bing Keyword Planner

Conducting effective keyword research with Bing Keyword Planner involves a systematic process of idea generation, data analysis, and refinement to identify the most valuable terms for your SEO and PPC efforts. This practical guide walks you through the essential steps, ensuring you extract actionable insights for your digital strategy.

Here’s a step-by-step approach:

Access the Tool: Log in to your Microsoft Advertising account. Navigate to Tools > Keyword Planner.
Start Your Search:
- Choose "Find keywords" to generate new ideas.
- Enter 1-3 broad terms related to your business (e.g., "electrician services," "vegan bakery," "digital marketing agency").
- Alternatively, you can provide your website URL to get keyword suggestions based on your site's content.
Refine Your Target Audience and Location:
- In the sidebar, specify your target location(s). For local businesses, be precise (e.g., "Dallas, Texas" instead of just "United States").
- Select the desired language.
- You can also filter by date range if you're looking for historical trends over a specific period.
Analyze Keyword Ideas:
- Review the generated list of keyword ideas. Sort by "Average monthly searches" to see the most popular terms first.
- Pay attention to the "Competition" column. While it's for paid ads, "Low" competition can indicate easier organic ranking opportunities.
- Look at the "Suggested bid" for PPC insights. Lower bids can mean cheaper clicks.
- Identify long-tail keywords (phrases of three or more words) that are highly specific and often have clearer user intent.
Filter and Export Relevant Keywords:
- Use the available filters (e.g., "Average monthly searches," "Competition") to narrow down your results. For instance, filter to show only keywords with 100-1,000 monthly searches and "Low" or "Medium" competition.
- Add keywords you deem valuable to your "plan."
- Once you have a refined list, click the "Download" button to export the data into a CSV file. This allows for further analysis in a spreadsheet program.
Review Historical Trends:
- For selected keywords, click on them to see their search volume trend over the past 12 months. This helps identify seasonality and informs your content calendar.
- For example, a business selling outdoor patio furniture would see a clear spike in searches during spring and early summer.
Develop Your Strategy:
- Use the exported data to prioritize keywords for your SEO content strategy. Focus on creating high-quality, comprehensive content that addresses the user intent behind these keywords.
- For PPC, use the data to build tightly themed ad groups with relevant keywords and compelling ad copy.
- Don't forget to look for negative keyword opportunities to prevent wasted ad spend.

Leveraging Bing Keyword Data for Local SEO Success

Bing keyword data is crucial for local SEO because it reveals how local customers search for businesses and services on the Microsoft Search Network, complementing insights from Google. By identifying localized keywords, businesses can optimize their Bing Places for Business profile, website content, and local citations to capture a distinct segment of the local market, improving overall online visibility.

As the founder of ProMapRanker, I often emphasize that local SEO isn't just about Google. Bing Places for Business is Bing's equivalent of Google Business Profile, and optimizing it with Bing-specific keywords is essential. Here's how to leverage Bing keyword data for local success:

Optimize Bing Places for Business: Use the local keywords discovered in the Bing Keyword Planner to optimize your Bing Places for Business listing. Ensure your business name, address, phone number (NAP), categories, services, and description prominently feature these terms. Just like with Google, accurate and consistent listings are key for local search visibility, as discussed in our guide on checking business listings consistency.
Local Content Creation: Develop website content (service pages, blog posts) that targets localized Bing keywords. If Bing users in your area frequently search for "best pizza delivery downtown," create a page or blog post specifically optimized for that phrase. This hyper-local content helps Bing understand your relevance to local searches.
Geo-Targeted PPC Campaigns: For local businesses running Bing Ads, use the Keyword Planner to create highly geo-targeted campaigns. Focus on keywords combined with specific city names, neighborhoods, or "near me" phrases, and ensure your ads only show to users within your service radius. This maximizes your ad spend efficiency.
Monitor Local Rank with ProMapRanker: Once you've optimized for Bing keywords, it's vital to track your performance. While Bing Keyword Planner helps with discovery, tools like ProMapRanker provide granular geo-grid local rank tracking across multiple search engines, including Google Maps. Our geo-grid scans, typically a 5x5 grid at 5 miles around your business, show you exactly where you rank for your target keywords across your service area. This data, combined with Bing's keyword insights, gives you a comprehensive view of your local search presence.
Analyze Share of Local Voice (SoLV) and Average Rank Position (ARP): ProMapRanker's unique metrics like Share of Local Voice (SoLV) and Average Rank Position (ARP) help you understand your overall local visibility and competitive standing. By identifying keywords from Bing that show strong local intent, you can then use ProMapRanker to track your performance for those specific terms, prioritizing your local SEO efforts using our heatmap action plan to prioritize.

Ready to see how your local business ranks for crucial keywords across your service area? Get a free Google Business Profile audit from ProMapRanker and discover actionable insights to boost your local visibility. For a deeper dive into your local keyword rankings, consider registering for ProMapRanker today.

Tips for Maximizing Your Bing Keyword Planner Results

To maximize your Bing Keyword Planner results, combine its data with other research methods, regularly update your keyword lists, and cross-reference insights with competitor analysis. Focus on user intent beyond just search volume, and integrate the findings into a holistic SEO and PPC strategy that also considers local search and specific Bing demographics.

Here are some expert tips:

Don't Rely Solely on Bing Keyword Planner: While powerful, it's best used as part of a broader keyword research strategy. Supplement its data with insights from Bing Webmaster Tools (Performance section), Bing Autocomplete suggestions, and even competitor analysis tools.
Consider the Bing Audience: Bing users often have distinct demographics (e.g., higher average age, more likely to be desktop users). Tailor your content and ad messaging to resonate with this audience. This might mean slightly more formal language or focusing on certain product benefits.
Regularly Review and Update Keywords: Search trends and user behavior evolve. Make it a habit to revisit the Bing Keyword Planner quarterly to discover new emerging keywords, assess changes in search volume, and identify declining terms.
Look for "Hidden Gem" Keywords: Don't just chase the highest search volume. Sometimes, keywords with moderate volume but very low competition and high commercial intent can be incredibly profitable. These are often long-tail keywords that other businesses overlook.
Use Match Types for PPC: When transferring keywords to your Bing Ads campaigns, remember to use appropriate keyword match types (broad, phrase, exact) to control how precisely your ads match user queries. This is crucial for budget control and relevance.
Integrate with Content Strategy: Keywords are not just for ads. Use your Bing Keyword Planner research to guide your content creation. If people are searching for "how to clean outdoor furniture," create a helpful guide. If they're looking for "best patio furniture deals," craft a product page or a seasonal sales announcement.
Monitor Competitor Activity: While Bing Keyword Planner doesn't directly show competitor keywords, you can use the "Website" option to analyze a competitor's site for keyword ideas. This gives you a glimpse into what terms they might be targeting, both organically and through ads.
Leverage for Voice Search Optimization: As voice search grows, people often ask full questions. Look for long-tail, question-based keywords in the planner (e.g., "where can I find a local electrician?"). Optimizing for these can capture a valuable segment of search traffic.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bing Keyword Planner free to use?

Yes, the Bing Keyword Planner is completely free to use. You only need a Microsoft account and a Microsoft Advertising account to access it, even if you don't plan to run paid ad campaigns. This makes it an accessible tool for both SEO professionals and PPC advertisers.

Do Bing keywords work for Google SEO?

While Bing keywords can provide general insights into search demand, they are not directly optimized for Google SEO. Bing's algorithm and user base differ from Google's, meaning search volumes and ranking factors can vary significantly. For comprehensive SEO, it's best to use both Bing Keyword Planner and Google Keyword Planner, as well as tools like ProMapRanker for specific local tracking.

How accurate is Bing Keyword Planner data?

Bing Keyword Planner data is accurate for the Microsoft Search Network, which includes Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo. The search volume and trend data reflect actual user queries on these platforms. However, it's important to remember that this data will be different from Google's search volumes due to varying market share and user demographics.

Can I track local keywords with Bing Keyword Planner?

Yes, Bing Keyword Planner allows you to filter keyword research by specific geographical locations, making it highly effective for identifying local keywords. You can input specific cities, states, or countries to see search volume and competition data relevant to those areas, which is essential for optimizing local business listings and content.

What is the difference between keyword research and keyword planning?

Keyword research is the process of discovering and analyzing keywords that people use to find information, products, or services. Keyword planning, on the other hand, involves taking those researched keywords and strategically integrating them into your SEO content, ad campaigns, and overall digital marketing strategy, often including budget allocation and performance forecasting.

Is Bing Webmaster Tools the same as Bing Keyword Planner?

No, Bing Webmaster Tools and Bing Keyword Planner are distinct but complementary. Bing Webmaster Tools provides insights into your website's performance on Bing, including crawl errors, indexed