46 Critical Bing Statistics: 2024 Market Share Analysis & Data

Undoubtedly, Google has the lion’s share of the search engine market, edging out other players like Bing, Yahoo, and AOL. However, data confirms that users look up other popular sites like Google and Facebook through Bing. This only goes to show that Bing can be a useful tool for marketers and advertisers. As the Bing statistics in this article show, marketers can tap into Bing’s audience, which consists of more mature users with a significant amount of household income.

In this article, get to know various Bing statistics—from its market share to other interesting facts about the Microsoft-owned search engine. You can gain insights into the demographics of Bing users, advertising and marketing statistics, as well as its performance during the pandemic for you to stay ahead of today’s SEO trends. In addition, it can be helpful in deciding whether adding Bing to your digital marketing strategy would be a worthwhile effort.

General Bing Statistics

Bing statistics from various sources show that it is only second to Google in terms of market share. However, Bing has billions of daily visitors and millions of Bing searches per day are done on the site. Though there are no official figures on the number of Bing daily active users, monthly active users on Bing are in the hundred-million range which suggests high traffic from users globally.

• As of March 2021, Bing hit 1,038 billion unique monthly visitors worldwide. This figure includes all web visits from desktop and mobile. (Similarweb, 2021)
• There are 14.6 billion PC searches made on Bing every month. (Microsoft, 2021)
• Bing has a total of 699 million unique PC users around the world. (Microsoft, 2021)
• According to leaked sources, there are more than 450 million monthly active users on Bing. (MSPoweruser, 2019)
• Bing ranked #32 among all other sites in the world as of March 2021. (Similarweb, 2021)
• In the United States, Bing ranked #24 in terms of traffic as of March 2021. (Similarweb, 2021)
• 99.8% of searches made through Bing is organic. The top organic keyword is Bing at 49.99%. The second is 必应 or the Chinese characters for Bing at 5.85%. In third place is Bing maps at 4.85%. (Similarweb, 2021)
• In the US, Bing’s market share is 2.31%. It is second only to Google, which has a 90.98% market share. (Keyword Discovery, 2020)
• Bing’s market share for desktop in the US market is 13.48%, 5.63% for tablet, and 2.83% for mobile. However, Google’s antitrust lawsuit can limit its market movement, which will be beneficial to Bing. (The Wall Street Journal, 2020)
• For every search made on Bing, 34 searches are made on Google. (Ahrefs, 2021)
• There are approximately 82.6 million Bing searches per day. (Ahrefs, 2021)

Bing User Statistics

Official Bing statistics from Microsoft show that the majority of Bing users are male, aged below 45, are married, and have children. Moreover, the US is the biggest contributor to Bing traffic. Below are more statistics about Bing’s demographics.

• Visits to Bing lasted for seven minutes and 22 seconds as of March 2021. (Similarweb, 2021)
• Bing users clicked on 5.43 web pages per visit as of March 2021. (Similarweb, 2021)
• Bing had a bounce rate of 37.95% as of March 2021. (Similarweb, 2021)
• 32.01% of traffic to Bing on desktop comes from the US. In second place is China with a 24.45% share in Bing visits, followed by Japan with 5.93%. (Similarweb, 2021)
• During the first quarter of 2020, Bing had a 3.9% share in organic search of all US site visits. Of those visits, 1.4% were made on mobile. (Merkle, 2020)
• 73% of global Bing users are under the age of 45. (Microsoft Advertising, 2021)
• 58% of global Bing users do product research on search engines. On the other hand, 41% of Bing users discover brands through search engines. (Microsoft Advertising, 2021)
• 57% of Bing users worldwide have children living at home. In addition, 53% of Bing users are married. (Microsoft Advertising, 2021)
• 56% of global Bing users are male while 44% are female. (Microsoft Advertising, 2021)
• 34% of Bing users worldwide have a college degree. Meanwhile, 35% have a household income in the top 25%. (Microsoft Advertising, 2021)
• 2% of Bing users worldwide identify as LGBTQ+. On the other hand, 15% report having a disability. (Microsoft Advertising, 2021)
• In a survey, 27% of search engine users in the US said that they have used Bing in the past four weeks. (Statista, 2020)

Bing Advertising and Marketing Statistics

Every year, Microsoft allots billions of its corporate budget to search advertising. However, industry data predicts that Bing will only have a single-digit percentage share in digital display ads in 2022. For marketers, it will be beneficial to know that direct marketing is the top source of traffic for Bing. Moreover, the chances of a user clicking on a Bing search result is only within the single-digit percentage, necessitating them to employ innovative digital marketing strategies for this platform.

• 86.13% of Bing traffic from desktops comes from direct marketing. On the other hand, 7.53% come from referrals while 3.23 come from search. Meanwhile, channels that were the lowest source of traffic were social (1.71%), mail (1.26%), and display (0.13%). (Similarweb, 2021)
• 50.13% of social traffic to Bing comes from YouTube. On the other hand, 18.03% of social traffic comes from Facebook while 9.55% comes from LinkedIn. (Similarweb, 2021)
• 7.16% of searches made on Bing generated a click on one of the search results. (Keyword Discovery, 2020)
• Bing has a market share of 1.26% in the search engine market based on query size. Meanwhile, 3.75% of searches made in Bing were composed of one word while 1.11% were composed of more than 10 words. (Keyword Discovery, 2020)
• By 2022, Microsoft will have a 1.4% share of ad spend for digital display ads in the US. This percentage includes advertising revenues from LinkedIn, which has grown since being acquired by Microsoft. (eMarketer, 2020)
• In 2020, revenue for Microsoft search advertising amounted to $7.74 billion. (Microsoft, 2020)

Interesting Bing Statistics

It is somewhat curious that one would use a search engine to look for another search engine. However, Bing statistics confirm that indeed people use Bing to do branded searches and go to other sites like Google or Facebook. Nevertheless, Microsoft is taking steps to remove content that violates copyright laws from its search results.

• The most searched keyword on Bing in the US is Facebook with 12,983,821 searches. In second place is YouTube (11,452,722) followed by Google (8,060,698). (Ahrefs, 2021)
• 61% of searches made in Bing were branded queries. (Ahrefs, 2021)
• Every month, there are eight million people in the US who search for Google on Bing. (Ahrefs, 2021)
• The top search for Bing on a global scale is Google with 40,958,757 searches. This is followed by YouTube (35,279,042) then Facebook (28,550,537). (Ahrefs, 2021)
• From July to December 2020, Microsoft received 2,050 government requests for content removal for its online services. These include Bing, OneDrive, Bing Ads, and MSN. (Microsoft, 2020)
• 1,200 government requests for content removal came from China. On the other hand, 689 came from Russia while 80 came from South Korea. (Microsoft, 2020)
• From July to December 2020, Bing received a total of 17,006,978 copyright removal requests from its search algorithms. The request covered 59,222,175 and led Bing to reject 257,104 URLs. (Microsoft, 2020)
• In the same period, Microsoft received a total of 2,867 “right to be forgotten” requests covering 10,280 URLs. France topped the list of countries with the most requests at 895. It is followed by the UK (539) and Germany (460). (Microsoft, 2020)
• Bing’s AI-powered question-answering feature is available in more than 100 languages. (The Windows Club, 2020)

Statistics on Bing Search During the Pandemic

Like all other industries, Bing was also affected by the pandemic. Bing statistics from industry analysts show that organic searches on Bing dropped between Q1 and Q4 2020. Similarly, spending for ads on Bing also fell by a double-digit percentage. Despite these, Microsoft improved Bing to show users the latest COVID-related information from reliable sources.

• Overall organic searches made on Bing declined by 26% during Q1 of 2020. Similarly, organic searches made on mobile dropped by 26% during the same period. (Merkle, 2020)
• In Q4 2020, spend for Microsoft search ads (formerly known as Bing Ads), fell by 13% year-on-year. (Merkle, 2020)
• Spend on Microsoft Products Ads decreased by 28% year-on-year in Q4 2020. (Merkle, 2020)
• The share of Microsoft Product Ads in Microsoft Search Ad clicks returned to pre-pandemic levels. During Q4 2020, Microsoft Product ads generated 33% of paid search clicks. (Merkle, 2020)
• Overall organic search shares in the US made in Bing decreased from 4.5% in Q1 2019 to 3.9% in Q1 2020. Mobile organic search share likewise declined from 1.6% in Q1 2019 to 1.4% in Q1 2020. (Merkle, 2020)
• In response to the pandemic, Microsoft News created COVID-19 information hubs in 53 markets around the world. An editing team reviews content from more than 4,500 trusted news brands for the hub. Information from the hubs appears when users search for “coronavirus updates” on Bing. (Microsoft, 2020)
• According to Bing’s COVID-19 data set, “hand sanitizer” was the top-ranked concern for US users in early March 2020. (Micorosoft, 2020)
• Bing’s  COVID tracker tracks confirmed cases in one’s locality and vaccine doses administered worldwide. The information presented in a visual format allows one to understand the COVID situation in an area within 30 seconds. (Fast Company, 2020)

Future Trends for Bing Search Engine

As a leading search engine, Bing is continuously evolving to stay competitive in the rapidly changing digital landscape. Here are some future trends to expect from Bing’s search engine:

• Increased AI Integration: Microsoft increasingly incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) into Bing’s search algorithms. This includes advanced AI features like natural language processing, which allows Bing to better understand and respond to complex search queries. AI is expected to make search results more accurate, personalized, and contextually relevant.
• Enhanced Voice Search Functionality: With the growing use of voice-activated assistants like Amazon Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana, Bing is improving its voice search capabilities. By making its search engine more voice-friendly, Bing aims to capture a larger share of users relying on voice commands for everyday tasks.
• More Visual and Video Search Capabilities: Visual search is becoming a key trend in search engines. Bing has already introduced visual search features, allowing users to search using images instead of text. In the future, expect Bing to enhance this technology, integrating more video search options and expanding its use of AI to analyze and rank multimedia content.
• Greater Integration with Microsoft Products: Bing will continue integrating with products like Microsoft Office, Outlook, and Windows as part of the Microsoft ecosystem. This could result in more seamless searches across devices, apps, and services. Bing will also likely become more intertwined with enterprise software, offering businesses better search and analytical tools.
• Focus on Sustainability and Ethical Search Practices: Bing will likely adopt more sustainable technologies, transparent data usage, and privacy policies. As public concern over data security rises, users and businesses will demand ethical search practices, pushing Bing to improve its data handling and privacy protocols.

What Lies Beyond for Bing?

Google search statistics show that Google dominates the search engine market, with Bing placing only second. However, this has not stopped Bing from amassing millions of unique PC users and generating billions of search queries. Moreover, while Google serves a more general audience, Bing caters to a more mature set of users who have families and sizable household incomes.

It cannot be denied that users go to Bing to make branded searches like Google, Facebook, and YouTube. However, recent innovations introduced by Microsoft have expanded its use beyond these purposes. These include a pandemic-related news hub, its own COVID tracker, removal of inappropriate search results, and an AI-powered question-answering feature in multiple languages. It is still too early to tell whether these changes are effective. However, they certainly help Bing to be more competitive and position itself as a viable alternative to more popular search engines out there.

Key Insights

• Bing is the second most popular search engine, significantly trailing Google but still boasting billions of daily visitors and high monthly active users.
• The majority of Bing users are male, under 45, married, and with children, with a significant proportion coming from the US.
• Bing’s market share for desktop searches in the US is 13.48%, while it has lower shares for tablets and mobile.
• Bing traffic primarily comes from direct marketing, with social media contributing minimally.
• The top search queries on Bing are for other major sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Google.
• Despite the pandemic’s impact, Bing has implemented several innovations such as COVID-19 information hubs and an AI-powered question-answering feature in over 100 languages.

FAQ

1. What is Bing’s market share compared to Google? Bing holds a 2.31% market share in the US, whereas Google dominates with a 90.98% share. For desktop searches, Bing’s share is 13.48%.
2. Who are the primary users of Bing? Most Bing users are male, under 45 years old, married, and have children. A significant portion of Bing’s traffic comes from the United States.
3. How does Bing perform in terms of user engagement? As of March 2021, visits to Bing lasted for an average of seven minutes and 22 seconds, with users clicking on 5.43 web pages per visit and a bounce rate of 37.95%.
4. What are the top search queries on Bing? The most searched keywords on Bing include Facebook, YouTube, and Google, indicating that users often use Bing to navigate to other major sites.
5. How did the pandemic affect Bing’s search statistics? During the pandemic, organic searches on Bing declined by 26% in Q1 2020, and ad spending also fell significantly. Despite this, Microsoft introduced features like COVID-19 information hubs and a COVID tracker to keep users informed.
6. What percentage of Bing’s traffic comes from direct marketing? A significant 86.13% of Bing’s desktop traffic comes from direct marketing, with social media contributing only 1.71%.
7. How has Bing adapted to the pandemic? Microsoft created COVID-19 information hubs and a COVID tracker to provide users with reliable and up-to-date information about the pandemic, enhancing Bing’s relevance and usability.
8. What is the click-through rate for searches on Bing? About 7.16% of searches on Bing generate a click on one of the search results, indicating a relatively low engagement compared to some other platforms.
9. What is Bing’s approach to content removal? Bing receives numerous requests for content removal, including government requests and copyright removal requests. Microsoft is proactive in removing content that violates laws and policies.
10. What innovations has Microsoft introduced to Bing recently? Microsoft has implemented several new features, including an AI-powered question-answering feature available in over 100 languages, which aims to enhance the user experience on Bing.

References:

1. Cohen, A. (2020, June 25). Coronavirus cases: The COVID tracker and map tools from Bing are among the best out there. Retrieved from Fast Company.
2. Elliot, D. (2020, April 10). Promoting trusted information in response to COVID-19. Retrieved from Microsoft.
3. eMarketer. (2020, June 27). Leading Digital Display Ad Sellers in the US, by Net Revenue Share, 2019-2022 (% of US digital display ad spending). Retrieved from eMarketer.
4. Hardwick, J. (2021, January 1). Top Bing Searches (2021). Retrieved from Ahrefs.
5. Keyword Discovery. (2020, January 1). Keyword and Search Engines Statistics. Retrieved from Keyword Discovery.
6. Kunst, A. (2020, November 19). Search engine usage by brand in the U.S. 2020. Retreived from Statista.
7. Microsoft. (2020). Corporate Social Responsibility: Content Removal Requests Report. Retrieved from Microsoft.
8. Microsoft. (2020, July 6). Extracting Covid-19 insights from Bing search data. Retrieved from Microsoft.
9. Microsoft Advertising. (2021 March). Microsoft Search Network data. Retrieved from Microsoft Advertising.
10. Microsoft Corporation. (2020, June 30). Microsoft Corporation Form 10-K 2020. Retrieved from Microsoft Corporation.
11. Merkle. (2020). Q1 2020 Digital Marketing Report. Retrieved from Merkle.
12. Merkle. (2020). Q4 2020 Digital Marketing Report. Retrieved from Merkle.
13. Similarweb. (2021 March). Bing.com March 2021 Overview. Retrieved from Similarweb.
14. Surur. (2019, June 19). Leaked numbers reveal size of Microsoft’s Bing empire, shades Cortana. Retrieved from MSPoweruser.
15. The Windows Club. (2020, October 2). Bing’s intelligent question-answering now supports more than 100 languages. Retrieved from The Windows Club.
16. Tilley, A. (2020, October 22). Google’s Antitrust Woes Seen Helping Microsoft’s Bing. Retrieved from The Wall Street Journal.

By Nestor Gilbert

Nestor Gilbert is a senior B2B and SaaS analyst and a core contributor at FinancesOnline for over 5 years. With his experience in software development and extensive knowledge of SaaS management, he writes mostly about emerging B2B technologies and their impact on the current business landscape. However, he also provides in-depth reviews on a wide range of software solutions to help businesses find suitable options for them. Through his work, he aims to help companies develop a more tech-forward approach to their operations and overcome their SaaS-related challenges.