Bing Places For Business is a free online directory where you can add your local business. Listings appear at the top of the Bing search results and in Bing Maps, showing your business’ contact details, address, and reviews.
All together, a Bing listing helps your business look more professional and build trust with potential customers — more important than ever as 97% of consumers, at least occasionally, look online for reviews of local businesses before deciding whether or not to visit.
Here’s how to set up your business listing on Bing Places For Business and some tips and best practices for managing your listing on an ongoing basis.
How to Create Your Bing Places For Business Account
To manage a business listing in Bing, you need an account. You can set up a brand new account or use an existing one to log into Bing.
1. Go to the Bing Places website and click “Sign in.”
2. Choose whether you want to log in using an existing account from another provider. The options include Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, so it’s highly likely you already have an account with one of these services. You’ll use this account to manage your Bing listing, so make sure you use a business account rather than a personal one.
3. If you don’t want to log in with one of these services, click “Create an account.”
4. Add your details to create your profile. You can also change notification settings — for example, to get alerts about information that’s missing from your listing or if there are any issues with the health of your listing.
How to Set Up (or Claim) Your Business Listing on Bing
Once you have a Bing Places account set up, you can add your business listing or claim an existing listing for your business. The process is slightly different for each, so here’s a brief walkthrough of each, depending on whether you’re creating a new listing or not.
To Set Up a New Business Listing
- Go to Bing Places For Business.
- Click “Get started as a new user.”
- Choose how to start your business listing. You can either choose to “Import from Google Business Profile Now,” or to “Claim or Add Your Business Manually.” Importing from Google Business Profile will be quicker and helps ensure consistency across multiple listing directories. But if you don’t have a Google Business Profile yet, continue to the next step, which is to add your business details manually.
4. After choosing to manually claim or add, you’ll be prompted to enter some information about your business, including its size and country/region. You’ll then see if Bing already has a profile for your business by entering your business phone number or name and location to bring up a list of possible local businesses. (If your business is listed, skip to the next section where we discuss claiming an existing listing.)
5. Scroll to the bottom of the search results and click “My business is not listed in the search results.” Then, click “Create new business” to begin manually adding your business details.
6. Add or confirm your company’s details. This includes core information like your business name, phone number, address, and website. You can also add a more detailed description, photos, links to social media profiles, and links to other directory profiles (such as Yelp). Most of the information you add will show up directly on your business listing, so make sure it’s accurate and is a good representation of your business.
7. Verify your business. Before your listing will show up in Bing results, you need to verify it. Choose a way for Bing to send you a PIN — via a phone call to your registered business phone number, an email to a business account, or receiving a postcard to your business address. Once your account is verified, you’re all ready to go.
To Claim an Existing Listing
1. On the search page described in Step 5, search for your business using either your phone number or city and business name. This will help you find the existing listing for your business.
Note: You can also do this by going to Bing Maps, searching for your business, and then clicking on “Claim now.”
2. Log in to your account. This is the account you set up earlier and will be the one you use to manage your listing. You will only need to do this if you come here from Bing Maps.
3. Verify your account. Before you can start changing or managing the listing, you need to prove to Bing that you own the business you’re trying to claim. Choose a way for Bing to send you a PIN — via phone, email, or physical mail. Once you receive it, you can enter the PIN to verify your account.
How to Add or Change Your Business Location on Bing Maps
Adding your business to Bing Maps should happen automatically when you add or claim your listing to Bing Places For Business. However, if your business location has changed, here’s how you can amend it on Bing.
- Log in to your Bing Places For Business account. Go to the Bing Places website and sign in with the account you use to manage your business listing.
- Select your business listing. From your dashboard, find and click on the listing you want to update.
- Edit your business address. In the business information section, click on “Edit” and then add your new location details.
- After making the necessary updates, click the “Save” button to apply the changes to your listing.
- Monitor the update. It may take some time for the changes to reflect on Bing search results and maps, so check back periodically to confirm the updates are live.
If the change is not taking place and Bing is showing two locations for your business, contact Bing support. You may need to list your business as closed and then create a new listing for your new location. This can impact your local SEO, so it’s best to resolve this through Bing support instead.
How to Optimize Local SEO for Your Bing Business Listings
1. Make Sure Your NAP is Accurate
NAP means name, address, and phone number — the core information about your business. Search engines like Bing pull information about your business from external sources, like other online directory sites. Bing has no way of knowing whether that information is accurate or not, so it’s essential to keep your NAP consistent across all online directory listings.
If you set up a new business listing on Bing, you have full control over the information you’re adding. So it’s pretty straightforward to make sure you add the exact same details as on other listing sites. But if you claim an existing listing, there might be inconsistencies or inaccuracies in your NAP that could easily go unnoticed.
To make sure your NAP is accurate and consistent across all online listings, you have a couple of options:
- Manually check all of the online directories, such as Yelp, Google Business Profile, Facebook, Foursquare, and Bing.
- Use a listings management tool like Chatmeter. These help keep your local listings accurate and consistent — our systems automatically flag inaccuracies so you can update multiple listings in minutes.
2. Use High-Quality Images
Listings with images show up more prominently in search results, both in Bing Search and on Bing Maps. They help potential customers build up a picture of your business — does the location and your products look genuine and good quality? High-quality images can help create a positive first impression, while poor-quality or vague images have the opposite effect.
You can add images to your Bing business listing when you first create it or add more later on. Think carefully about what customers would want to see from your business and try to add images that meet those needs. For example, adding images of your storefront and internal space helps customers find your business when visiting for the first time. Images of your products, services, or menu show what you offer and can help people decide whether or not to visit.
3. Encourage and Respond to Reviews
Being able to manage and respond to customer reviews is one of the main benefits of having a Bing business listing. Reviews help customers decide whether to use your business or not and can really help build trust in your company.
In fact, BrightLocal found that 88% of consumers are likely to use a business if they can see the business owner responding to reviews. It shows you’re willing to engage with customers and take their experience seriously — even if they share something negative.
Monitor your Bing business listing for new reviews. You can do this manually by logging in every day. Alternatively, Chatmeter’s reputation management solution will alert you when new reviews are posted on your listing.
Take time to respond to them all as they come in. That includes both positive and negative reviews — don’t only engage with customers who say great things about your business. It can be difficult to know what to say when faced with criticism about your business or service, so we’ve put together a list of customizable review reply templates to help you craft the perfect response.
4. Add Relevant Keywords
Keywords are the specific words and phrases that people type into search engines when looking for businesses, products, or services. For example, if someone is searching for “cat toy shop near me,” those terms are the keywords Bing uses to connect them with relevant results.
Including relevant keywords in your Bing Places listing helps search engines understand what your business offers and improves your chances of appearing in front of the right searchers. By optimizing your listing with well-chosen keywords, you can increase your visibility, attract more customers, and boost your local SEO performance.
Here’s how to do that:
1. Identify your target keywords by brainstorming what people would search when looking for your business and using specialized keyword tools. One great choice for this is Google Search Console because it’s both free and can tell you what keywords people looked for when they came across your site on Google.
2. Incorporate keywords into your business description on Bing. After logging in to your Bing Places for Business account, simply navigate to your business listing and edit the description section.
Tip: Make sure any keywords you add feel natural. You want to ensure that your description reads smoothly and highlights what makes your business unique. Adding keywords without any thought for the reader could be considered keyword stuffing, a practice frowned upon by both Bing and Google.
3. Optimize additional fields with your selected keywords. This can include adding keywords to other sections, such as your business category, services offered, and photo captions. For example, if you own a spa, include keywords like “luxury day spa” or “massage therapy in [City].
5. Remove Duplicate Listings
Duplicate listings can confuse customers and harm your local SEO by creating inconsistencies in your business information. They often occur when slight variations in details, such as your business name or address, result in multiple profiles appearing on Bing.
To remove duplicates, start by searching for your business on Bing using your name, city, and ZIP code. If you spot duplicates, click the “Suggest an edit” option and then select “Close or remove.”
For more support, contact Bing’s support team directly to see if they can help you remove any duplicate listings.
6. Build Your Website’s Local Backlink Profile
Backlinks are links from one website to another. In local SEO, backlinks from well-known local businesses, establishments, or government sites signal to search engines like Bing that your business is trusted and relevant within your community. This vote of confidence can help influence Bing to place your listing higher up in their SERP rankings.
Here’s how to build a robust local backlink profile:
- Partner with local businesses through cross-promotions, sponsorships, or events. You can then add each other on a “Partners” or “Sponsors” page on your websites.
- List your business in local directories like those run by your local Chamber of Commerce.
- Engage with local media by sharing press releases about events, new products, or community involvement. They can link to your website in their articles or news pieces.
- Sponsor community events, sports teams, or charities and then request a backlink from their website as part of your sponsorship agreement.
- Create shareable content tailored to your community, such as “Top Restaurants in [City]” or “A Local’s Guide to [Topic].” Share it with local influencers or organizations to encourage backlinks.
7. Keep Your Bing Places For Business Listing Up-to-Date
Out-of-date business information can be a real annoyance for customers. Say you’ve changed your opening hours or days but haven’t updated your listing. Customers will look online and show up, only to find your business closed.
Whenever you make big changes to your business — like changing your opening times, service or product offerings, or even your store signage, update your Bing business listing, too. This will help build trust with your customers, as they know what they see online is an accurate representation of your business.
To keep your listing updated, you can log into Bing each time and make changes there. Alternatively, you can use listings management software like Chatmeter. Our product integrates directly with listing directories (including Bing), so you can make changes in one place, and it updates across the other sites all at once.
Take Control of Your Online Listings
Now you know how to set up and manage a business listing on Bing, but it’s just one of many directories on which you’ll want to have your business listed. Keeping all those listings accurate and up-to-date is no small task, especially if your business operates in multiple locations with individual listings for each location.
Chatmeter makes it easy to keep your listings updated and make your online presence a key asset of your brand. Want to see it for yourself? Check out our self-guided product demo to see exactly how Chatmeter can benefit your business. Or, if you want to learn more, set up a call with our expert team.
Bing Listings FAQs
Is Bing Places For Business Free?
Yes, Bing Places For Business is 100% free to use for any business.
Can I Advertise on Bing?
Yes, you can advertise on Bing through the Microsoft Advertising platform. Use Microsoft Advertising to create targeted ads that appear on Bing search results and partner sites.
Are Google and Bing Listings Different?
Yes, Google and Bing listings are different, even if they serve similar purposes for your business. Google Business Profile manages your business listing on the Google Search Engine, while Bing Places for Business is specific to Microsoft’s search engine.
You will need to set up and manage these listings separately. However, you can import data between the two, which should make maintaining both of your listings more efficient.
Can You Add Multiple Locations at Once on Bing Places For Business?
Yes, Bing Places For Business allows you to add multiple locations at once using its bulk upload tool.