Bing Webmaster Tools URL Inspection: A Quick Guide

By Emily Redmond, Data Analyst at Emilytics · April 2026

TL;DR: Use the URL Inspection tool to check if Bing has crawled and indexed a specific page. Diagnose crawl errors, missing markup, and mobile issues.

What Is URL Inspection?

URL Inspection is a diagnostic tool in Bing Webmaster Tools that shows:

• Whether Bing has crawled a URL
• Whether Bing has indexed it
• Why a page might not be indexed (crawl errors, noindex, etc.)
• Structured data (markup) detected on the page
• Mobile usability issues

It's similar to Google Search Console's URL Inspection but shows Bing-specific data.

How to Use URL Inspection

Step 1: Go to URL Inspection in Bing Webmaster Tools (under "Tools & Settings").

Step 2: Paste the URL you want to check (e.g., yoursite.com/blog/my-page).

Step 3: Click Inspect.

Bing will show:

• Whether the URL was crawled
• Whether it's indexed
• Crawl date
• Any issues

Understanding URL Inspection Results

Status: Indexed

What it means: Bing has crawled and indexed this page. It can appear in search results.

What to check:

• Crawl date (recent is good)
• Structured data (schema markup) – does it show?
• Mobile usability (are there issues?)

Action: If indexed recently and no issues, you're good.

Status: Not Indexed

Reasons Bing might not index:

1. Noindex tag – You told Bing not to index
2. Robots.txt block – robots.txt says don't crawl
3. Crawl error – Bing tried to crawl but failed (404, 5XX, timeout)
4. Redirect – Page redirects to another URL
5. Duplicate – Bing sees it as duplicate content
6. Crawl pending – Bing hasn't crawled it yet (wait 24–48 hours)

Action: Check which reason applies and fix.

Status: Crawled, Not Indexed

What it means: Bing crawled the page but decided not to index it.

Reasons:

• Duplicate of another page (use canonical tag)
• Thin content (expand to 1,500+ words)
• Noindex tag
• Low quality
• Soft 404 (page exists but has no real content)

Action: Fix the issue and request re-crawl via IndexNow.

💡 Emily's take: I once had a page that was crawled but not indexed. Turned out it was a duplicate. Adding a canonical tag to the original didn't help immediately. I submitted via IndexNow and Bing re-crawled within 24 hours. Same with a "crawled, not indexed" issue—submit via IndexNow to trigger a re-evaluation.

Diagnosing Common Issues

Issue: "Blocked by robots.txt"

Meaning: Your robots.txt file tells Bing not to crawl this URL.

Check: Go to yoursite.com/robots.txt and look for the rule blocking this path.

Fix: Remove the block (unless you meant to block it). Example:

User-agent: Bingbot
Disallow: /blog/

This blocks all /blog/* URLs. To allow a specific page:

User-agent: Bingbot
Disallow: /blog/spam/
Allow: /blog/article

Issue: "404 Not Found"

Meaning: The page doesn't exist or has been deleted.

Fix:

• If the page still exists, fix the URL
• If deleted, set up a 301 redirect to a related page
• Remove the URL from your sitemap

Issue: "Soft 404"

Meaning: Page exists but has no real content (mostly blank, no text).

Fix: Add real content (1,500+ words minimum). Update and resubmit via IndexNow.

Issue: "Redirect"

Meaning: The URL redirects to another page.

Check: Is this intentional? If yes, Bing will eventually index the target page instead. No action needed.

If unintentional, fix the redirect.

Issue: "Duplicate Content"

Meaning: This page is similar to another page on your site.

Fix: Add a canonical tag pointing to the original:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://yoursite.com/original-page" />

Or use a 301 redirect.

Issue: "Mobile Usability Problems"

Meaning: The page has mobile accessibility issues (text too small, buttons too close, etc.).

Fix:

• Ensure viewport meta tag is present
• Make buttons at least 48x48px
• Avoid Flash
• Use responsive design

Inspecting Multiple URLs at Once

If you want to check 10 URLs, you can:

1. Check each individually in URL Inspection (slow)
2. Use Site Scan to crawl your entire site and find issues (better)
3. Export your crawl errors report to see all problematic URLs at once

For a quick batch check, Site Scan is faster than individual URL Inspection.

When to Use URL Inspection

Use for:

• Checking if a new page is indexed (publish, wait 24 hours, check)
• Diagnosing why a specific page isn't ranking
• Verifying markup is correct
• Checking mobile usability on a specific page
• Confirming a fix worked (404 → fixed page)

Don't use for:

• Checking all pages (use Site Scan instead)
• General site health (use Site Scan)
• Ranking issues (use Search Keywords report)

URL Inspection Workflow

When you publish a new page:

1. Publish the page
2. Submit via IndexNow (optional, faster)
3. Wait 24 hours
4. Use URL Inspection to check if Bing crawled it
5. If not crawled, check for robots.txt blocks or errors
6. If crawled but not indexed, check for noindex tags or duplicate content
7. If indexed, monitor ranking in Search Keywords report

Troubleshooting URL Inspection Issues

"I can't find the URL Inspection tool"

It's under Tools & Settings → URL Inspection. If you don't see it, you may not have the site verified in Bing Webmaster Tools. Verify first.

"The tool says 'Not found' but the page exists"

The URL might have a typo. Double-check:

• Protocol (https vs. http)
• Domain spelling
• Path (including trailing slash)

"The tool shows old crawl date (from weeks ago)"

Bing hasn't re-crawled recently. Submit via IndexNow to request immediate crawl, or wait for Bing's regular crawl.

"Mobile usability says 'errors' but the page looks fine"

Bing may be checking a specific device type or viewport. Test on actual mobile devices. If it looks fine, the errors might be false positives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How often does Bing re-crawl with URL Inspection?

A: Bing typically re-crawls within 24–48 hours. You can request faster crawl via IndexNow.

Q: What's the difference between "Crawled" and "Indexed"?

A: Crawled = Bing visited the page. Indexed = Bing added it to the index and it can appear in results. A page must be crawled before it can be indexed.

Q: Can I force Bing to re-crawl a URL?

A: Not force, but request via IndexNow. Bing will typically crawl within 24 hours.

Q: What if URL Inspection shows duplicate content?

A: Add a canonical tag to point to the original page, or set up a 301 redirect. Resubmit via IndexNow for re-evaluation.

Q: Does URL Inspection check mobile and desktop separately?

A: Not in the report, but Bing crawls both. If there are mobile-specific issues, they'll show under "Mobile usability."

The Bottom Line

URL Inspection is a diagnostic tool, not a ranking tool. Use it to troubleshoot specific pages—why they're not indexed, why they have errors, whether your fixes worked. For overall site health and ranking analysis, use Site Scan and the Search Keywords report.

Emily Redmond is a data analyst at Emilytics — the AI analytics agent watching your GA4, Search Console, and Bing data. 8 years of experience. Say hi →