Verify all versions of site in Bing Webmaster Tools
-
Hello,
We recently migrated our site to a new shopping cart, https, and from www to non-www, and it's been a rough transition. We've lost a lost of traffic particularly in Bing. All the versions of our site are verified Google WMT, sitemaps are submitted correctly, etc. Unfortunately, this was not done for Bing. Currently only the new version of our site (https, non-www) is verified in Bing WMT. Do we have to verify all versions of our site in Bing, the way they are in Google WMT? Also, now that it's been a few months since the switch, should we still submit a site move to Bing WMT or is it too late?
Thanks in advance!
-
We had the exact same issue! I had the developer fix the 302 redirect that I found, but I am sure there are more errors in the redirects, so we are in the process of getting a full technical audit done so that we can fix any other errors. After you fixed the 302 redirects, how long did it take for the search engines to correctly index your site? Was there anything that you did that helped speed up the process?
-
I had the same thing happen once, we had developers put in 302s instead of 301s it took awhile to get corrected.
-
We had a drop in Google as well, but the more drastic drop was in Bing and Yahoo. I know that part of the issue is that there are errors with our redirects, and we are working on fixing them, but I am trying to make sure we have all our bases covered and that everything else is done correctly.
-
Bing has dropped but Google has been ok?
-
Thank you! I wish there was a way to verify them all and do the site move, because the traffic has really declined and I can only think that it's because Bing hasn't recognized the full site move...
-
Thank you for your response!
All of the redirects are working and I am on top of the backlinks, but when I try to add the other versions of the site (www and http) to Bing nothing happens. It just loads, and takes me back to the version of the site that is already verified. Would you know why it's not allowing me to add more versions of the site?
-
When I was moving to https I ran into a similar problem and this was the response I got back from Bing
"I understand that you've switched your non SSL website example.com to a secured website https://www.example.com and you want to verify that version in order to use the Site Move feature.The reason you are being redirected to the dashboard is because Bing Webmaster Tools will identify your site thru the domain therefore the SSL and non-SSL version of the site is basically the same in Bing Webmaster Tool. If you already have 301 redirects set to your pages then there's no need to use the site move feature. The permanent redirect that you've placed should already be sufficient for Bing to change your site to http to https."
This explains https but not the www to non www. I just went to one of my sites in Bing Webmaster Tools that I currently have verified as www and tried to verify a version without www and it wouldn't let me, it exhibited the same behavior as when I tried to verify https.
As long as your current Bing Webmaster Tools is working I wouldn't worry about verifying all of your versions.
-
Hi there
I would submit the site move in Bing and make sure your sitemap has been submitted. I would all make sure the following is taken care of:
- Make sure all non www URLs 301 redirect to www URLs
- Make sure all http:// 301 redirect to https://
I would also check your internal links and sitemap to make sure that URLs are listed correctly there. Remember, traffic takes a little while to come back sometimes, so don't be completely discouraged. Make sure you covered all of your bases.
Another thing I would do - check your backlinks and make sure you update the valuable ones to the new URL structure and remove any spammy or irrelevant ones. This can help build back the equity.
Hope this helps a bit! Good luck!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How do I get my pages to go from "Submitted" to "Indexed" in Google Webmaster Tools?
Background: I recently launched a new site and it's performing much better than the old site in terms of bounce rate, page view, pages per session, session duration, and conversions. As suspected, sessions, users, and % new sessions are all down. Which I'm okay with because the the old site had a lot of low quality traffic going to it. The traffic we have now is much more engaged and targeted. Lastly, the site was built using Squarespace and was launched the middle of August. **Question: **When reviewing Google Webmaster Tools' Sitemaps section, I noticed it says 57 web pages Submitted, but only 5 Indexed! The sitemap that's submitted seems to be all there. I'm not sure if this is a Squarespace thing or what. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!!
Technical SEO | | Nate_D0 -
Can I have an http AND a https site on Google Webmaster tools
My website is https but the default property that was configured on Google WMT was http and wasn't showing me any information because of that. I added an https property for that, but my question is: do I need to delete the original HTTP or can I leave both websites?
Technical SEO | | Onboard.com0 -
Exact match and Bing
Hi Folks Fairly new to SEO and had two questions; 1- I have an SEO group doing work for us on a particular keyword, for the site http://bluetea.com.au/ .... however i've noticed that we only rank for the exact match of the keyword we ask them to work on... never a variation or even the plural .... Any thoughts? 2- http://bluetea.com.au/ has been around for almost 2 years however we still have absolutely no presence in Bing / Yahoo.... what am I missing.. any tips? Articles I must read? Thank you in advance 🙂
Technical SEO | | Intrested0 -
How do you know what version of your site of Google is in their index?
This is going to sound like a strange question, but I am trying to understand which version of our site is in the index. You might think this is an obvious question, but here is why I am asking: 1. Today I searched for a specific keyword and found the listing. 2. I liked on the right arrow next to the listing and checked the cache date. It says 6/28 and shows the site as of 6/28. 3. I expected to see that we were just indexed as we jumped several pages since yesterday and I had just checked two days ago and we hadn't moved at all. It seems like Google may have taken the changes we made on 7/2 but since it is showing 6/28, I am note sure. Since this is confusing, here is the chronology: 1. Made changes 6/20. 2. Site appeared to be indexed on 6/28. 3. Made changes on 7/2. 4. Checked the site on 7/2 and we were in position 60. Checked the site on 7/4 and we were in position 61. 5.. Checked the site today (7/6) and see we are in position 8. The cache date shows as 6/28. I suspect that Google just indexed us yesterday and is reflecting the changes I made on 7/2. But the fact that it says it was cached on 6/28 seems to sugges otherwise. I want to be sure I know which version got us the good rankings - is there any way to be sure? Thanks!!
Technical SEO | | trophycentraltrophiesandawards0 -
Video submission sites
Hello, What are the top 5 sites for video submissions ? Any suggestions about which points should be taken into consideration when submitting videos ? Thanks
Technical SEO | | seoug_20050 -
Different version of site for "users" who don't accept cookies considered cloaking?
Hi I've got a client with lots of content that is hidden behind a registration form - if you don't fill it out you can not proceed to the content. As a result it is not being indexed. No surprises there. They are only doing this because they feel it is the best way of capturing email addresses, rather than the fact that they need to "protect" the content. Currently users arriving on the site will be redirected to the form if they have not had a "this user is registered" cookie set previously. If the cookie is set then they aren't redirected and get to see the content. I am considering changing this logic to only redirecting users to the form if they accept cookies but haven't got the "this user is registered cookie". The idea being that search engines would then not be redirected and would index the full site, not the dead end form. From the clients perspective this would mean only very free non-registered visitors would "avoid" the form, yet search engines are arguably not being treated as a special case. So my question is: would this be considered cloaking/put the site at risk in any way? (They would prefer to not go down the First Click Free route as this will lower their email sign-ups.) Thank you!
Technical SEO | | TimBarlow0 -
How do I set up a site review for a password protected site?
We need to conduct a SEO analysis for a website that is on a private, password protected development site -- is there anyway for SEOMoz tools to access and analyze a PW protected site? Thank you, Sara Merten
Technical SEO | | kev110