Does Bing support cross-domain canonical tags?

[bonnierSEO]

We have heard Bing takes canonical tags as hints, but do they support cross-domain canonical tags? I don't think this has ever been discussed? Does anyone have an answer or insight?

Thanks!!

[RyanKent]

All the information I could locate on this topic said it was planned for later this year, but there hasn't been any announcement for it so I don't believe it is currently offered.

The most current discussion I could locate is: http://theresultspeople.com/2011/01/18/keep-an-eye-on-bing-webmaster-tools/

Based on the above I would say Bing does not currently support cross-domain canonical tags.

[Dr-Pete]

General consensus seems to be that cross-domain canonical is not supported on Bing. One SEO I know says he's tested it and confirmed that. Granted, it's hard to conclusively prove something doesn't work, but it seems like this one is Google-only for now.

[Dr-Pete]

Ok, well just to confuse the issue, Stefan Weitz at Bing just replied that they DO support cross-domain canonical. So, maybe it's a relatively recent development (?)

You have to keep in mind that, if it's anything like Google, the cross-domain application is only a suggestion. If the engines think that the cross-domain canonical doesn't make sense or the sites really shouldn't be collapsed that way, they may simply ignore it. So, even with general evidence or official sanction, your own application isn't guaranteed. On the other hand, if you're applying it legitimately, there's virtually no risk. Worst case, it doesn't work.

[RyanKent]

It's strange they began supporting this functionality without any public announcement. With that said, I'll trust your source. If someone has the opportunity to test it, the confirmation would be helpful.

[Dr-Pete]

Admittedly, public opinion from the industry still seems to be that support is limited. This is the kind of case where I generally believe the reps, though, because it's mostly a technical question. It's not like asking "How many times should I use my keyword in the TITLE tag?"

[bonnierSEO]

Thank you all for the responses. I hope they start supporting it soon.