Do you know how to claim your business on Bing Places? Do you know why it’s so important that you do? Well, it’s about time that you did, so today I’m going to walk you through the claiming process as well as tell you why it’s so important that you claim your spot on Bing Places!
How to Claim Your Business on Bing Places
First thing’s first, how do you go about claiming your business on Bing Places?
Step 1: Head over to Bing Places and select the “Get Started” button in the center of the page.
Step 2: When the next page loads, you will see a drop-down menu asking for your business type. It’s important to be as accurate as possible when choosing your business type. Your options here are “Small or Medium Business 1-10 Locations”, “Chain Business More Than 10 Locations”, “Online Business (No Physical Location), or “I Manage Business Listings on my Client’s Behalf”.
Step 3: Depending on the business type you choose one of a few things will happen…
- If you choose “Small or Medium Business” you will be asked to enter your country location. You will also see a box here where you can import your business information from Google Business listings if you have your Google Business Listing set up. If you don’t yet have your business set up with Google Business yet, you can search for your business with your phone number or location. if your business is not found, you can create it yourself by following on-screen instructions.
- If you chose “Chain Business More Than 10 Locations”, you will be redirected to a sign in page where you can sign in with various network accounts or create a new account.
- If you chose “Online Business (No Physical Location) you will see a warning pop up telling you that you are not eligible to claim your business since it does not have a physical location.
- If you chose “I Manage Business Listings on my Client’s Behalf”, you will be prompted to use Bing Places API instead of the traditional Bing Places setup.
Step 4: If you have to set up a new profile to claim your business, you will be asked to fill in a basic profile. While doing this, you will also be asked about your communication preferences, be sure to fill this in!
Step 5: You will now be redirected to search for your business again. As before, search your business and when it’s not found, set up a new business by following the on-screen instructions. Be as clear and detailed as possible when adding your business without being longwinded.
Step 6: Once your business information has been filled in, you will be notified that a verification code will be sent to your business address via mail (not e-mail). This is a safety precaution to ensure that you are actually affiliated with the business that you are adding.
Step 7: When you receive the verification code via mail, log into your Bing Places account dashboard and submit the verification code to officially add your business.
Step 8: You can now log into your account dashboard at Bing Places and manage your business listing.
Step 9: One of the perks of Bing Places is that you can add and manage multiple businesses from your dashboard area easily. If you have more than one business, this is a very convenient way to manage them all.
Why It’s Important to Claim Your Business on Bing Places
You Prevent Competitors From Claiming Your Bing Places Profile
It’s hard to cheat the system with Bing Places, but where there’s a will, there’s a way and that means that theoretically, one of your competitors could wind up claiming your Bing Places space as their own! They can then use this space to promote their own business or to create a negative reputation for your business. So if you have the opportunity to claim your Bing Places business address and earmark that online real estate as your own…why wouldn’t you?
It’s Free Real Estate, Why Not?
When you claim your business via Bing Places, you are claiming a free chunk of online real estate where others can find your business and your services details. You want to cover as much online real estate as possible when it comes to promoting your business because the more exposure, the more likely web surfers are to find you! So, why wouldn’t you make use of it?
You Control Your Business Information
Another advantage to claiming your business on Bing Places is that you’re in control of what business information is shared. You choose what phone number users see, you will occasionally have the opportunity to hide your business address, you get to detail what type of business you are, you get to write up your own business description…it’s all in your hands! Rather than leaving someone who doesn’t know a thing about your business to fill in the blanks for you, YOU control it all!
Do You Need a Hand to Claim Your Business on Bing Places?
If you need help from a professional to claim your business page on Bing Places, I can help. Just pick up the phone and call me today at 727-475-6460 for your free consultation and we’ll get your Bing Places business page set up in no time at all!
