If you follow search engine marketing then no doubt you’ve been hearing about Microsoft’s latest search engine release called Bing. Bing promises a new user experience for those surfing the web. This is a pretty necessary rework of Microsoft’s previous search in an effort to compete with both Google and Yahoo. Today, there is more press coverage that is covering this launch as Microsoft is seeking to make radical changes to their business model.

Each day I am getting a large number of blog readers asking about Bing and what they should be doing to get sites ranked well on this new search engine. This is a common question whenever new search engines are released regarding the methodology they use to rank.. The good news here is that Bing appears to follow many of the same protocols as Google, the world’s leading search engine.

A common method of evaluating how search engine algorithms work is to do an in depth analysis of top performing sites for given keywords. This allows you to evaluate commonalities and also differences that may account for differences in ranking. Based on my own side by side comparisons and additional in depth research among others in the search engine optimization community, it’s pretty evident that web site age, in bound links, and other criteria are important to the Bing search algorithm.

After doing just a small amount of investigation it’s clear that Bing is using criteria such as in bound linking to evaluate the appropriateness of a given site related to a search term. Consistent with other search enginemethodologies, in bound linking shows which sites are popular and worth of top rankings. Focus your SEO efforts on link building to do well in Google and other search engines like Bing.

Organic search should be at the top of your list. If it is then you know where you need to focus, inbound linking. If you haven’t gotten on the organic rankings band wagon, then start with on page optimization. Once your site is formatted appropriately, start with off page optimization and link building.

Another area of importance is content. Search engines like Bing look for fresh, relevant content. You want to make sure that your content is valuable to browsers and web site visitors but that it is also relevant and up to date. Consider adding a revising content on a regular basis. This helps you succeed in generating inbound links and quality scores from search engine algorithms.

Optimizing your website requires a good deal of attention to search engine optimization basics. By focusing on what you can control, creating engaging content and producing a website that is easily navigated by search engines, you go a long way in developing a Bing friendly site. In addition, you move closer towards improving your rankings for all major search engines.