Why do I use Bing? This is a question I get asked occasionally when a friend notices my laptop and tablet are set to default to Bing rather than Google. "Don't you get lousy search results?", "How can they be better than Google?" "How do you even change your defaults...?" are other common questions.
The reason I use Bing is simple - they offer a built-in, simple rewards program that earns me about $5 on Amazon.com monthly (or other potential rewards can be purchased with your points if you don't like Amazon). To top that off, I've never had bad search results from them, and I really like their launch page - each day they feature a different professional photograph, often themed to the day (for the first day of spring they had adorable baby lambs!) (Jumpity Jump jump, more after the jump)
Bing rewards can be used on it's own, or you can use it in conjunction with Swagbucks.com (a post for the future!) When combined with Swagbucks (SB for short), Bing reward points are worth a little extra, because of complicated SB redemption things I will go into in more detail on a future moneymaking post!
So how do you use Bing rewards?
First: Sign up! If you like me, feel free to use my referral link - Otherwise you can start at www.bing.com. In the upper left corner of Bing.com you will find a "Sign up" link, which will walk you through the process like my referral link. You will need a Microsoft account for this sign up. If you already have one just log in, otherwise it is free to sign up for a new one. Sign into the Bing.com rewards section with your microsoft account and you will be ready to start earning rewards.
Second: Default your search engine. The welcome walkthrough will help you do this with a few simple clicks. Now, whenever you initiate a search from your taskbar you will get your results on Bing instead of Google. And every 2 searches will earn you 1 point (up to 15 points per day). You can also go to bing.com on your mobile devices and default those search engines the same way.
Third: Use your search engine as you always would. You'll earn points just for searching like you always do. When you earn enough you can redeem the points in their shop for a ton of different options.
How do I maximize my earnings every day?
There are a few steps I do daily (or when I have time) to make sure I've maximized my results.
First: I go bing.com and let the front page fully load. If you hover over the main image you will see three boxes - hover over each of these and you'll get a search link related to the photo of the day. Open these in new tabs, peruse and explore more if you want, close the tabs.
Second: On the bottom of the bing.com homepage you'll find the trending searches. Open each of these in their own tab. I usually will click through the tabs and see what is popular and open a link on every few searches - this gives Bing some credit and they'll be less likely to deactivate your account, since you are using it as you should - to find content. I actually manage to keep pretty well up to date on current events this way!
Third: In the upper left hand of the homepage or your search results you will find your current point total - if you click on that it will open a pull down menu. On this menu each day will be a task or search they want you to click on for 1 point. Open each one in a new tab. Same as before - if it looks interesting, feel free to go further, if not, close the tab.
By opening these tabs you'll reach your 30 searches for 15 points pretty easily each day. Each bonus item will get you 1-5 points (Tuesdays are the best, where they do trivia for 3 points with easy searches, that also count toward your search bonus!)
You are allowed up to 5 bing reward accounts per household, but I haven't gone this route because, frankly, "Ain't nobody got time for that shit". I feel just fine maxing out one account per day, and it will make it much less likely that I'll get in trouble for violating the Terms of Service and get banned all together. I don't want to get banned, because then I make nothing!
How do I maximize rewards?
Bing has 3 levels of status - regular, silver and gold. Regular members earn just what I put above - daily searches, bonus items, etc. Silver members get a 1 time bonus of 50 points. Gold members get a 10% discount on all their reward redemptions. So the easiest way to maximize your rewards is to become a gold member.
To become a gold member you first need to become a silver member. To do this you need to:
- Complete the welcome tour (which earns you credits and you should do when you first sign up!)
- Redeem credits for your first reward (find the lowest cost sweepstakes and enter it as soon as you can - it is usually 20 credits)
- Earn 200 lifetime credits (took me about a week and a half)
It can be very tempting to redeem your first reward as soon as you have the points to do so, but I recommend waiting until you've reached gold status. Most rewards are 500 points, and that will go down to 475 with gold status. By waiting out the redemption you can get more with fewer points.
What's the bottom line?
Bing rewards is the easiest way I've found to earn money online doing something you already do - internet searches. Even if you don't opt to maximize your rewards, you'll easily earn a few dollars each month. If you maximize your searches and reach gold status, you will be earning a $5 gift card every month or so (again, more on combining Bing with Swagbucks for maximum rewards in a later post!)
Ease of use: A+
Potential earnings per month: $5+
Reward type: Gift cards to numerous vendors (Amazon, Target, Sephora, Starbucks, Toys-R-Us, and more)
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