Product Feed Optimization Guide for Bing Shopping Feed
Learn the required fields, format specifications, and optimization strategies for Bing Shopping Feed feeds.
What is Bing Shopping Feed?
Bing Shopping is the product discovery and ad surface inside Bing search and across the Microsoft Search Network, which also powers Yahoo, AOL, DuckDuckGo (partial), and Microsoft Edge's default search. Although Google's search share is larger, Bing reaches a meaningfully different audience: older demographics, higher household incomes, more enterprise users, and a desktop-heavy device mix. CPCs on Bing Shopping typically run 30 to 50 percent below Google's for equivalent product queries, and conversion rates often sit higher because of the demographic skew. For ecommerce merchants in the EU, US, UK, and CA, Bing Shopping is one of the most underexploited paid channels.
The Bing Shopping feed is submitted through Microsoft Merchant Center (MMC). MMC accepts the same XML format as Google Merchant Center (RSS 2.0 with the http://base.google.com/ns/1.0 namespace) and also supports CSV/TSV uploads. Most merchants reuse their existing Google feed verbatim - Microsoft has invested heavily in spec parity to lower the switching cost. The handful of differences are around tax handling (Bing requires tax in the price for non-US markets), ID rules (Bing accepts longer IDs and a wider character set), and a small number of Bing-specific extensions for promotions and seller ratings.
Optimizing for Bing Shopping is fundamentally similar to optimizing for Google Shopping, but with three structural differences. First, Bing's indexing cycle is longer - new feeds typically take 24 to 72 hours to fully populate vs Google's 4 to 24 hours. Second, Bing Shopping's ranking model gives more weight to merchant reliability signals (return rate, dispute rate, account tenure) and less to bid amount, which means a clean feed and a long account history compound over time. Third, Bing's integration with Edge and Windows means the feed also drives the Edge price-compare overlay and Windows Search product cards - both surfaces that ride free on top of any Bing Shopping investment.
At a Glance
Bing Shopping Feed Field Requirements
Required and optional fields for your product feed
How Bing Shopping Feed Feeds Are Structured
Key structural rules and formatting requirements for this feed type
- 1
Use the Google Shopping XML namespace - Bing accepts it natively
Microsoft Merchant Center reads RSS 2.0 with the Google namespace (xmlns:g="http://base.google.com/ns/1.0") without modification. Most merchants point Bing at the exact same feed URL they already serve to Google. UTF-8 is required, and the feed must be HTTPS-accessible. CSV/TSV uploads are accepted as a secondary option but XML provides better field coverage and easier debugging.
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:g="http://base.google.com/ns/1.0"><channel><title>My Store</title><link>https://www.example.com</link><item><g:id>SKU-001</g:id><g:title>Product Title</g:title></item> - 2
Include tax in the price for EU and UK markets
Unlike US merchants who set tax separately, EU/UK Bing Shopping merchants must include VAT in the price field. Setting an ex-VAT price for EU markets causes a price-mismatch detection at the landing-page check and item suppression. The fix is straightforward at the feed-generation step: always export the gross (VAT-inclusive) price for EU/UK locales.
<g:price>149.95 EUR</g:price> <!-- VAT-inclusive for NL --><g:price>129.99 USD</g:price> <!-- ex-tax for US --> - 3
Use accepted enumerated values for availability and condition
availability accepts: in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder, backorder. condition accepts: new, refurbished, used. Bing Shopping is more strict than Google about case and spelling - In Stock or InStock will fail validation. Always emit the exact lowercase values from the spec.
<g:availability>in_stock</g:availability><g:condition>new</g:condition> - 4
Group variants with item_group_id
Each size, color, or material variant is a separate <item> with a unique id but a shared item_group_id. Bing Shopping uses the group to render a single product card with selectable variants. Variants must each have their own image, price, and availability - sharing one image across all sizes causes Bing to deduplicate them down to a single listing and lose visibility on the unique variants.
<g:item_group_id>AIRMAX-90</g:item_group_id><g:color>Black</g:color><g:size>42 EU</g:size> - 5
Provide both gtin and mpn where available
Bing Shopping rewards completeness. Where Google often accepts gtin OR mpn for branded products, Bing's ranking model gives a meaningful boost to listings that include both. mpn (manufacturer part number) is especially useful in product categories where the GTIN is regional but the MPN is global (consumer electronics, appliances). Always emit both when the manufacturer publishes them.
<g:gtin>0194501234567</g:gtin><g:mpn>CW7483-002</g:mpn> - 6
Encode special characters and use CDATA for HTML descriptions
Special characters (& < > ' ") must be XML-escaped. For descriptions containing HTML markup, wrap the content in <![CDATA[...]]> to prevent parser errors. Bing's parser is somewhat more forgiving than Google's but malformed XML still causes feed-level rejections that can take 24+ hours to surface.
<g:title>Men&apos;s Running Shoes - Black &amp; White</g:title><g:description><![CDATA[Premium <strong>cushioning</strong>.]]></g:description>
Bing Shopping Feed Optimization Tips
Proven strategies to improve your feed performance and product visibility
- 1
Reuse your Google feed - then optimize titles for Bing's older demographics
Start with your Google Shopping feed verbatim. Once approved, A/B test titles that skew toward longer descriptive phrasing rather than keyword-stuffed alternatives. Bing's user base trends older and more brand-conscious - they respond better to clear, complete product descriptions than to abbreviated keyword strings. Lead with brand, then full product name, then concrete differentiators.
Google-style: Nike AirMax90 Mens Running Shoes Black White Sz42Bing-friendly: Nike Air Max 90 Men's Running Shoe in Black and White, Size 42 EU - 2
Push your shipping_label segments aggressively
Bing Shopping merchants frequently underuse shipping_label, but it is one of the highest-leverage levers. Tag products with concrete shipping descriptors (free_over_50, ships_today, expedited_available, oversized) and use those labels in MMC bidding rules to set shipping-aware bids. Bing surfaces a free shipping callout in the listing card when the rule matches the user's cart, which lifts CTR by 15 to 25 percent in apparel and electronics categories.
<g:shipping_label>free_over_50</g:shipping_label><g:shipping_label>ships_today</g:shipping_label> - 3
Submit promotions through the MMC promotions feed alongside the product feed
MMC has a separate promotions feed (different URL, different schema) for site-wide and category-level promo codes. When a product's promotion_id matches an active promotions-feed entry, Bing displays a special offer chip on the listing. This is the only way to surface promo codes inside Bing Shopping cards. The promotions feed is small (one row per promo) and can be updated daily.
Product feed: <g:promotion_id>SPRING2026</g:promotion_id>Promotions feed: SPRING2026, 10 percent off, 2026-05-01 to 2026-05-31 - 4
Aim for the Microsoft Elite Merchant Badge
Microsoft awards an Elite Merchant Badge (and the Top Rated Merchant designation) to high-quality advertisers in select markets including the US and UK. The badge is awarded automatically based on Microsoft's internal quality signals - merchants cannot self-apply. The driving signals are sustained low complaint rate, strong product ratings, on-time shipping, and a clear return policy. The visible badge on listings lifts CTR meaningfully and boosts ranking when competing on shared GTINs. Treat it as an outcome of clean ops rather than a program to apply for.
Driving signals: low complaint rate, strong product ratings, on-time shipping, clear return policyNote: cannot apply - Microsoft awards the badge automatically - 5
Refresh the feed every 4 hours, not daily
Bing's indexing is slower than Google's, but its respect for your declared refresh frequency is stronger. Schedule a 4-hour fetch in MMC and your feed will be re-indexed at that cadence; submit a daily feed and Bing assumes your data is valid for 24 hours and will not re-check. This is the inverse of the Google relationship - daily on Google is fine because Google polls actively, while daily on Bing leaves you stale for too long.
MMC schedule: every 4 hoursFor high-velocity SKUs: every hour via Content API - 6
Leverage custom_label segmentation for Bing-specific bidding
The five custom_label fields (custom_label_0 through custom_label_4) drive segmentation in Microsoft Advertising. Common uses: margin tier (high/medium/low), bestseller flag, seasonal relevance, brand tier, and competitor-undercut flag. Build a Microsoft Advertising campaign per label combination so you can set bids that reflect the unit economics of each segment. Bing's lower CPCs mean small bid adjustments produce larger ROAS swings than the equivalent moves on Google.
custom_label_0: margin_highcustom_label_1: bestsellercustom_label_2: spring_2026
Common Bing Shopping Feed Feed Errors
Frequent feed issues and how to resolve them
- Error
Tax-exclusive price submitted for EU/UK market
SolutionEU and UK Bing Shopping requires VAT-inclusive prices. Submitting an ex-VAT price triggers a price-mismatch error during the storefront landing-page check. Configure your feed-generation pipeline to always emit gross prices for EU locales. The mismatch detection runs on every feed refresh, so a one-time fix may take up to 4 hours to clear.
- Error
GTIN missing or fails check-digit validation
SolutionBing requires GTIN for all branded products that have a manufacturer-assigned code. EAN-13 is most common in EU; UPC-A in NA. Submitting a GTIN with an invalid check digit triggers item-level disapproval. The most common cause is silent stripping of the leading zero during a CSV export - store GTINs as strings everywhere in your pipeline. For products with no manufacturer GTIN (handmade, vintage), set <g:identifier_exists>false</g:identifier_exists>.
- Error
Image link returns 403 to Microsoft crawlers
SolutionMicrosoft uses several user agents: bingbot for general indexing, MSNBot-Media for image fetching, and AdIdxBot for ad-related URLs. CDN bot-management rules that block unknown bots will silently drop these requests, causing items to be flagged as missing image. Whitelist bingbot, MSNBot-Media, and AdIdxBot in robots.txt, in your CDN bot rules, and in any WAF policies. Verify with curl -A 'MSNBot-Media' against your image URLs from outside your office network.
- Error
Mismatched product_type and google_product_category
Solutiongoogle_product_category uses Google's taxonomy (Apparel & Accessories > Shoes > Athletic Shoes); product_type is your own internal taxonomy. They should be roughly aligned but Bing flags listings where the two are wildly different (e.g., Apparel > Shoes vs Electronics > Phones). Audit your category-mapping logic if you see this error at scale.
- Error
Feed processing timeout on large catalogs
SolutionMMC's ingest times out at 4 hours per feed file with a 4 GB max size. Catalogs above 500K items should split into multiple files referenced from a sitemap, or stream gzipped output. The most common timeout cause is serving the feed from the same origin as the storefront - high storefront traffic can starve the ingest of bandwidth and result in a stale catalog for 24+ hours.
- Error
Missing or invalid sale_price_effective_date format
Solutionsale_price_effective_date uses ISO 8601 with timezone, two timestamps separated by /. Submitting a sale price without the effective date causes Bing to apply the sale price indefinitely - then complain about price-mismatch when the storefront reverts to the regular price. Always pair sale_price with sale_price_effective_date or use the MMC promotions feed instead.
Feed Performance Metrics to Track
Key metrics that indicate how well your product feed is performing
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Bing Shopping CTR averages 1.5 to 2.5 percent across categories - meaningfully higher than Google Shopping in older-demographic categories (home & garden, healthcare, B2B supplies) and lower in tech/youth categories. Healthy listings exceed 3 percent. Below 1 percent typically indicates a weak product image or pricing that is uncompetitive against the surfaced comparison cards.
Impression Share
Percentage of eligible auctions where your products appear. Reported in Microsoft Advertising at the campaign and product-group level. Aim for above 60 percent in your priority segments. Below 40 percent points to either bidding too low (raise bids), feed quality issues (fix data), or budget caps (raise daily budget).
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Average CPCs on Bing Shopping run 30 to 50 percent below Google for the equivalent product query. Healthy: 0.20 to 0.80 EUR for general categories, 0.50 to 1.50 EUR for high-competition categories (fashion, electronics). Spikes in CPC usually indicate a competitor entering the auction; Bing's competitive landscape is shallower than Google's so a single new advertiser can move CPCs noticeably.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
ROAS on Bing Shopping typically runs 30 to 60 percent higher than Google for the same advertiser, mostly driven by lower CPCs and higher conversion rate from the older demographic. Aim for 4x+ in mainstream categories. Custom labels enable per-segment ROAS targeting - high-margin SKUs can sustain 2x ROAS while low-margin SKUs need 6x+.
Feed Health Score
MMC reports a feed health score (0-100) computed from approval rate, GTIN coverage, image accessibility, and price-match consistency. Aim above 92. Drops in this score correlate with impression-share drops 24 to 48 hours later, so use it as an early-warning indicator when something in your export pipeline regresses.
How to Set Up Your Bing Shopping Feed Feed
Step-by-step guide to creating and optimizing your product feed
Create a Microsoft Merchant Center account
Visit ads.microsoft.com/merchants and sign up. You will need a verified domain (HTML tag, DNS, or Google Search Console import is fastest), a published return policy on your storefront, and a Microsoft Advertising account in good standing. Approval typically takes 1 to 3 business days for new accounts. If you migrated from Google Shopping, MMC offers a one-click Google Merchant Center import that pre-fills most account settings.
Submit your existing Google Shopping XML feed
In MMC, register a primary feed pointing to your existing Google Shopping XML URL. Select your target country and language, set the fetch schedule to every 4 hours (not daily - Bing's indexing benefits from more frequent re-checks), and enable the auto-tagging option for tracking. Most Google feeds work without modification; the only routine adjustment is ensuring VAT-inclusive prices for EU/UK markets.
Whitelist Microsoft crawlers in your CDN and bot-management rules
Add bingbot (general indexing), MSNBot-Media (image fetching), and AdIdxBot (ad URLs) to robots.txt allow-list, to your CDN's bot-management ruleset (Cloudflare, Akamai, AWS WAF), and to any anti-bot WAF policies. This must apply to the feed URL, all image URLs, and all product landing pages. Verify with curl -A 'MSNBot-Media' from a clean network. Without proper whitelisting, you will see intermittent missing image errors that look unrelated to bot policy.
Bing Shopping Optimization Checklist
Download the complete checklist for getting onto Bing Shopping and the wider Microsoft Search Network in days, not weeks. Covers the Google-to-Bing feed migration, the multi-crawler whitelist most merchants miss (bingbot + MSNBot-Media + AdIdxBot), the MMC promotions feed setup, and the operational signals that drive the Elite Merchant Badge.
- Step-by-step Google-to-Bing feed migration playbook including the EU/UK VAT-inclusive price adjustment, MMC-specific extensions, and the import path that pre-fills most settings
- Complete bot whitelist configuration for bingbot, MSNBot-Media, and AdIdxBot across Cloudflare, Akamai, AWS WAF, and Fastly so feed and image ingest never silently fail
- MMC promotions-feed schema with worked examples for percent off, fixed amount off, free shipping, and BOGO promotions, and the promotion_id linking pattern
- Operational-signal playbook for earning the Elite Merchant Badge and Top Rated Merchant designation - what Microsoft measures and how to optimize each input
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Bing Shopping Feed product feeds
Google Product Category Lookup
Full taxonomy list, IDs, and how to map your products correctly.
Explore More Feed Guides
- Inventory all product sources
- Define your attribute schema
- Normalize brand names
- Add alt-text to every primary image
The product feed optimization checklist
Ten hard steps that bring your rejection rate down and your CTR up — from title templates to source-side structured data.
- Record your current rejection rate first as a baseline
- Per-channel title templates (no copy-paste)
- Pipe errors into Slack/email for same-day triage
One email, no follow-up spam. Print it and get to work.
Generate every feed automatically from one catalog
The WISEPIM Feed Hub turns your central product data into ready-to-publish feeds for every channel in this guide — and dozens more. Map fields once, schedule refreshes, monitor errors per channel, and push fixes back to the source. No manual exports, no format-juggling, no chasing rejections one channel at a time.
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