Bing Webmaster Tools Protocol Handling: Understanding the Lack of Distinction Between HTTP and HTTPS

Introduction to Bing’s Protocol Normalization

For website owners and SEO professionals, tracking performance across different protocol variations is a standard part of search engine optimization. However, a critical distinction exists between how Google and Microsoft handle these variations. While Google Search Console allows administrators to create separate properties for HTTP and HTTPS versions of a site, Bing Webmaster Tools (BWT) takes a more consolidated approach.

Recent clarifications from the Bing team have highlighted that Bing Webmaster Tools does not distinguish between the secure (HTTPS) and non-secure (HTTP) versions of a website. To the platform, these are effectively treated as a single property.

Official Confirmation from the Bing Team

This operational detail was recently reaffirmed by Krishna Madhavan of the Bing Webmaster Tools team via LinkedIn. Madhavan noted that from the perspective of the tool’s architecture, the distinction between the two protocols is nonexistent for the customer. Regardless of which version is imported or verified, the data is aggregated into a single property view.

According to Madhavan, scenarios where a website hosts entirely different content on HTTP versus HTTPS are “super rare” and generally considered “problematic” from a technical and SEO standpoint. Consequently, Bing’s system is designed to prioritize HTTPS—reflecting the modern standard of the web—but will fall back to HTTP or other ports if HTTPS data is unavailable.

Bing Webmaster Tools vs. Google Search Console

The contrast with Google’s approach is significant. In Google Search Console, a user might maintain separate properties for http://example.com and https://example.com to track exactly how traffic is migrating from the insecure version to the secure one.

In contrast, Bing’s consolidated view simplifies the management process but means that users cannot use the tool to isolate protocol-specific traffic trends in the same granular way they might with Google. This is an important consideration for those who use the “Import from Google Search Console” feature in BWT, as the resulting data will be merged regardless of how the properties were separated in Google.

Key Takeaways for SEOs and Site Administrators

• Consolidated Reporting: Expect your analytics and search performance data in Bing Webmaster Tools to be aggregated across both HTTP and HTTPS protocols.
• Import Considerations: When importing properties from Google Search Console, be aware that multiple protocol-specific properties will likely be merged into one in BWT.
• Security Standards: While Bing supports HTTP as a fallback, the platform strongly expects and prioritizes HTTPS, aligning with global web security trends.
• Data Accuracy: Because Bing treats these as the same property, the “normalized URL” is typically what appears in the reporting, reducing the noise caused by protocol variations.