With Bing’s Local Listing Center in its final death throes, you may have been wondering how Bing would handle its local listing and SEO. Well, fear not. Bing has cut the ribbon on its Business Portal and opened it to the public. Found in Bing’s Local tab, these listings are becoming increasingly popular among consumers and brick and mortar stores, as well as mobile users.
Getting Set Up
Once you log in, do a manual search for your listing. Once you find it, click the option to change the business listing, and voila! You’ve claimed your listing. Choose which categories you’d like to appear in, add the correct information for your business, and wait for a verification pin that will arrive in your mailbox.
When you’re done, you can use the Listing Detail and Profile Editor to spiff up your listing with various media and marketing elements such as business hours, accepted payment types, and a list of your products/services. The Business Portal also includes user reviews to help consumers make their decisions.
Neat Toys and Features
Bing has included a number of extremely helpful options and features:
- QR Codes — Increasing in popularity because of the convenience and the arrival of smart phones, these codes can send users virtually anywhere, including your website, local listing, coupon, sales pages, and more.
- Photo Uploading — Showing pictures of the interior and exterior of your store makes it easy for them to recognize your business and judge its qualities. Some sites are even displaying images of products, the staff, and happy customers. You might even want to use this as part of a fun sale or contest.
- Menu Creation — If you offer food or beverages, make it easier for your customers to order and enjoy your food by posting your menu right on your business listing. Also included in the Bing Business Portal is the Open Table Reservation system, so people can make reservations instantly.
- Deal Publisher — If you’d like to offer special deals to users who use Bing Desktop or Mobile, this is the best (and FREE) way to do it. Not only does your sale or deal appear on these two systems, but you can also post your deal to Facebook and have it featured on the Daily Deals site, provided it meets their requirements.
There is a ton of advertising potential here for brick and mortar business owners, so if you haven’t already done so, be sure to claim your listing now!