Over the past week Google has accused Bing of using Google search results to populate their own. Bing has denied this accusation, saying that Google clicks are just a small part of their algorithm for search engine results pages. Google has posted screenshots of identical search results that were just using random letters to prove the point.
Bing has yet to do anything about the claims and just calls them false. If Bing refuses to do anything there are some ramifications to SEO. It shows that Google clicks in Bing’s algorithm are ranked higher than Bing says they are which shows that Google will be the standard for SEO. This means that by optimizing your site for Google search, based on best practices and guidelines set forth by Google, you would theoretically be in the best SEO position to rank for Bing, a major player in search, as well.
On a side note earlier Bing accused Google of profiting from spam. The claim was made by a Bing representative that pointed out that a lot of results that are deemed to be spam that are still showing up in results host Google Ads. Basically, the implication is that Google will not eliminate spam results that have Google Ads because people that click through to the spam site could end up making money for Google. If this is true then there are a number of different impacts on SEO.
First, it would have a huge impact on what Google results show. In the last few weeks, Google announced a new type of spam filter that would eradicate spam from its results pages. If a few sites with Google Ads escape the filter, expect those to be the next to disappear. Google is in the business of giving people what they want, which is helpful information with no spam. If your site is not properly optimized and free of practices seen as spam (such as keyword stuffing), your rankings could take a hit. Working with a reputable SEO company will help ensure that your site meets these standards.