How to Get Started With Bing Places for Business

Jocelyn Dimaculangan has spent 14+ years in the online publishing industry while studying digital marketing and SEO trends. As a staff writer for Fit Small Business, she shares her expertise by creating articles that tackle the latest trends in marketing .

Elizabeth Kraus has more than a decade of first-hand experience building and growing a boutique digital marketing agency and double that in small and mid-size business marketing management. She provides expert answers to marketing questions related to branding, content marketing, web development, email, social media, and SEO.

Setting up a Bing Places for Business listing will give your brand more visibility in online searches on Bing. Similar to Google Business pages, it allows you to manage your online listings as well as generate and manage customer reviews and comments. To use Bing Places for business, all you need to do is go to Bing, sign up for an account, follow the prompts to complete your business profile, and verify it.

1. Sign in to Your Microsoft Account

Go to bingplaces.com and sign in to your Microsoft account. If you don’t have one, sign up for a free account. You can do this with an email address or phone number. After you’ve added all the necessary information (password, birthdate, confirmation code), you’ll solve a quick CAPTCHA test to prove you’re human. After that, you can already sign in with your login information.

2. Claim (or Create) Your Business Listing

Bing has two options for getting a listing for single-location businesses: adding or claiming the listing manually, or importing your details from your Google My Business listing. Keep in mind that there’s a different process for companies with more than 10 locations, so be sure you choose the correct option for your business size.

You will then be asked to select the business type that makes the most sense for your business. There’s an option for small businesses without a physical address since this listing is also appropriate for local professionals who don’t have a physical location for customers to visit.

Use your business phone number or business name with a ZIP code to check whether your listing already exists. If it exists, you’ll see your business on the map. If Bing can’t find your business, then create a new business listing.

Use the drop-downs below to learn more about the different processes for adding a Bing Places for a single location versus adding it for multiple locations:

Create a New Bing Places Listing

To add your business listing manually, just fill in the fields with your business information. Be sure to enter the exact same address and contact details you’ve used when adding your business to other online directories. If you’re not sure where you should list your business, check out our list of the best online business directories for small businesses to get started.

If you already have a Google Business Profile (and if you don’t, you should), then you can import your listing information from your Google profile to Bing. When you choose this option, follow the directions for logging into your Google account and allowing Bing Places to access your Google Business page information.

Pro tip: Managing all your listings across the internet can be time-consuming. You can save time by using BrightLocal to monitor your listings across thousands of online directories for just $29 per month.

Visit BrightLocal

Add More Than 10 Locations to Bing for Business

If you have more than 10 locations under your business name, you’ll follow a different method to add your listings. Fill out the name of your chain business, your website, and the number of locations. On the next screen, add the corporate information to verify your locations.

3. Add a Category & Description to Your Listing

Next, you’ll be prompted to choose your business type. If you’re not sure, you can choose the last option from the list of business segments and then type in your business category. Then, add your address, or if you don’t wish to display a physical address, you can hide your address.

Follow the prompts to add your email, social media links, and directory profile links (e.g., Yelp for Business), and finally, add up to 100 photos to display on your business listing.

4. Verify Your Business to Complete Your Listing

After you press the submit button, you’ll get a prompt to verify your business. If your phone number is registered as a business phone and Bing can confirm that on its end, you can claim your Bing business listing by phone or text.

If your business is too new, or you’ve not registered it yet as a business line, you may have to verify by mail, which could take up to a week. After verification, it should take one to two weeks to see your Bing business listing in Microsoft’s default search engine.

Listing your business in online directories like Google, Bing, Yelp, and more is an effective way to increase your rankings in an online search. It also gives prospects and customers another way to discover and engage with your business. However, adding, optimizing, and managing your business’ listings can take a lot of time and effort.

Here are some of the top tools for managing your Bing (and other) business listings online:

• Podium: The more positive reviews your business receives on Bing, Google, and Yelp, the more likely you are to increase in rankings and attract more customers. Generate more reviews to promote your business online with Podium. Plus, you can try it free for 14 days.
• BrightLocal: Monitor and manage your business listings and citations (mentions) across thousands of websites for just $29 per month.
• Semrush: Optimizing your Bing and other business listings descriptions, about sections, product and service listings, and images with the right keywords can increase your chances of getting found online. Use Semrush free for keyword research, or purchase a paid plan and the listings management add-on to automatically add and manage your online listings.
• Hibu: Leave your Bing account setup and management to the pros. The marketing experts at Hibu can help you get more positive reviews, optimize your listing, and manage your online reputation with a la carte services from $300 per month.
• Fiverr: Tap into the freelance gig marketplace on Fiverr to find project-based help with setting up and managing your Bing and other business listings. Services start as low as $5.

When you already know how to claim a business on Bing and when your listing goes live, getting customers to leave positive reviews for your business can help your website rank higher. Learn how to get more reviews to increase rankings.

Reasons to Use Bing Places for Business

Creating a listing on Bing can bring many benefits to small businesses. First, it improves your visibility in online searches on Bing, which can result in more customers finding your business. Secondly, Bing listings are optimized for search, which means your listing is more likely to appear higher in search results. Finally, creating a complete and accurate Bing business listing can help inform more people about your products and services.

By listing your small business here, you’ll have a chance of tapping into an audience that may use Bing exclusively for search as well as users who use multiple search engines. Here are some benefits of knowing how to get listed on Bing:

• More organic exposure for your brand from the second-most used search engine
• Capture the attention of a different audience
• Find new customers who may have more disposable income
• Get free marketing by ranking high in local search results

Plus, you can combine the use of Bing Places to rank in local searches with Bing Ads to increase exposure for your brand even more. But even if you don’t advertise on Bing, you’ll appear in organic search results, making you visible to an audience that may not use Google. It’s an easy, free way to potentially gain more customers.

If you want to further increase your site visibility and boost your traffic, read our comprehensive guide to search engine marketing.

7 Bing Search Statistics Small Businesses Need to Know

Here are some key Bing search statistics you need to know to make the most of Microsoft’s default search engine. These statistics can be used in steering the direction of your business and help you make informed decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What’s the difference between Bing Places & Google My Business?

Bing Places for Business and Google Business Profiles (formerly Google My Business pages) are both free directories for businesses, but they belong to different search engines. Plus, while Bing Places is intended for local businesses (with or without a physical location), every business can (and should) create a Google Business Profile and consider adding business listings in other top online business directories as well.

Is Bing Places for Business free?

Yes, it’s totally free to use. This free listing service from Bing helps businesses manage their online presence. By creating and optimizing a business listing, businesses can appear in search results on Bing.com and map results on Bing Maps, gain and manage customer reviews, and increase brand awareness, web traffic, and sales.

How do I get my business to show up on Bing?

To improve your chances of appearing on Bing’s search results, ensure your website is Bing-friendly. This means creating high-quality content that contains the keywords that people are likely to use when searching for your type of business on Bing. Once your website is ready, submit it to Bing for indexing by going to the Bing Webmaster Tools site and submitting the URL of your home page. Then create your business listing following the steps above.

Bottom Line

Increase your business’ visibility by using Bing Places for Business and see how exposure to over 1 billion people per month can help boost your business. Similar to Google My Business, your Bing listing will help locals find you online, so that you generate more in-person as well as website traffic and sales. What’s more, it’s free and easy to use, so there’s nothing to lose.

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