How Can an SEO Marketer Improve Their Search Rank with Bing"s Business Portal?
Microsoft is on a mission to make its search engine a worthy Google competitor on all levels that count. The technology company recently raised the stakes in the search wars with the unveiling of the Bing Business Portal, a new service tailored to replace its Local Listing Center. Though currently in beta, Bing Business Portal is generating a lot of hype, mainly because it offers marketers to enhance their presence both on and offline through local search results.
Claim Your Listing
The first thing you need to do to start benefitting from the Bing Business Portal is claim your listing. This can be done through your local listing page of the Bing website. When you find your listing, simply click the option to change it, and it can then be officially claimed through phone or snail mail, which requires you to confirm a provided PIN number. Once claimed, you can then start personalizing your listing through various options.
What's so cool about the new Bing Business Portal is that it gives you a broad range of options for sprucing up your listing. For example, you can include additional elements such as your business hours, the type of payment methods you accept, and parking availability at your establishment. The service even allows you to include links to your website, Facebook page, and Twitter account. You can also categorize your listing, which goes a long way in boosting your ranking and increasing chances for discovery in the results.
Tons of Great Features at Your Disposal
As far as the Bing Business Portal and SEO goes, the more complete your listing, the better you will fair in the rankings. However, there are several interesting features that can benefit your efforts as well.
Image Uploads - Bing now allows you to stand out in the local results with the ability to upload images and enhance your listing. These images could include your logo as well as photos of the interior and exterior of your store. The new service provides an easy way to establish the type of recognition that is great for branding.
Deals and Special Offers - Offering deals or special offers at your store? Showcase them through the Bing Business Portal. The service is set up so you can easily publish any deals or sales you are running for displaying in the results. Even better is the fact is that you can share them on Facebook on several of Bing's Daily Deals partners.
Menu Listings - This feature allows restaurants and bars to couple their listings with detailed menus. You can either provide a link to your existing menu, or create one from scratch directly in the Bing Business Portal. This feature also lets local businesses create mobile menus to cater to the fast growing audience of smartphone users.
Bing's new Business Portal is the perfect tool for marketers with a strong local presence. It is totally free to use, so if you have a physical establishment, make sure your business is listed and optimized for the maximum exposure.
Claim Your Listing
The first thing you need to do to start benefitting from the Bing Business Portal is claim your listing. This can be done through your local listing page of the Bing website. When you find your listing, simply click the option to change it, and it can then be officially claimed through phone or snail mail, which requires you to confirm a provided PIN number. Once claimed, you can then start personalizing your listing through various options.
What's so cool about the new Bing Business Portal is that it gives you a broad range of options for sprucing up your listing. For example, you can include additional elements such as your business hours, the type of payment methods you accept, and parking availability at your establishment. The service even allows you to include links to your website, Facebook page, and Twitter account. You can also categorize your listing, which goes a long way in boosting your ranking and increasing chances for discovery in the results.
Tons of Great Features at Your Disposal
As far as the Bing Business Portal and SEO goes, the more complete your listing, the better you will fair in the rankings. However, there are several interesting features that can benefit your efforts as well.
Image Uploads - Bing now allows you to stand out in the local results with the ability to upload images and enhance your listing. These images could include your logo as well as photos of the interior and exterior of your store. The new service provides an easy way to establish the type of recognition that is great for branding.
Deals and Special Offers - Offering deals or special offers at your store? Showcase them through the Bing Business Portal. The service is set up so you can easily publish any deals or sales you are running for displaying in the results. Even better is the fact is that you can share them on Facebook on several of Bing's Daily Deals partners.
Menu Listings - This feature allows restaurants and bars to couple their listings with detailed menus. You can either provide a link to your existing menu, or create one from scratch directly in the Bing Business Portal. This feature also lets local businesses create mobile menus to cater to the fast growing audience of smartphone users.
Bing's new Business Portal is the perfect tool for marketers with a strong local presence. It is totally free to use, so if you have a physical establishment, make sure your business is listed and optimized for the maximum exposure.
