Appear on First Page of Bing

Microsoft's Bing search engine offers businesses a way to reach a local audience through its Places for Business listings. When someone near your location searches for something, Bing offers local results matching the terms. Completing and maintaining your listing helps you stand out from the competition, placing you at the top of search results.

Claim or Add Your Listing
Before you can maximize your business listing, you need to make sure you're listed on Bing in the first place. Visit Bing Places (see link in Resources) and search for your business. If Bing already has your business listed, you can claim it to legitimize it and verify all information is accurate. If your business isn't listed, you can add it to start showing in Bing's local search results.

Categorize and Specialize
Listing your business with Bing does no good if you don't specify what your business does. Choose the appropriate category and specialties for your business to further refine search results and get your listing in front of searchers. For example, you may appear in a result with a hundred other “photographers” in your area but only a dozen “wedding photographers.” The more specific you are with your business specialties, the higher you'll appear in local Bing searches.

Fill In All Business Information
Bing compares the information in your listing with that of your website and other major business directories. The more they match, the more reliable and relevant Bing considers your listing. Ensure that all information, including the business name, address and phone number, is correct and current. Add your website's address, a photo and business hours to your listing to further stand above your competition.

Spread Out
No matter how complete your listing on Bing Local, you still need to branch out and place similar listings on other websites. These additional listings provide influential links and sources to verify to Bing that you are who you say you are and indeed still in business. Listings on other websites such as Google Places, YellowPages.com or Yahoo Local can help improve your ranking on Bing Local.

Posted in: Google Optimization