Bing Business Portal

Recently we attended a webinar about tomorrow’s SEO and the new things that Bing has provided for both small businesses and SEOs. Two of the big things Bing has rolled out are; the Bing Business Portal, which is still in beta stage, and the Bing Sitemap Plug-in. Both of these new tools can be leveraged to help grow small business and become more visible locally on the web. But today we will mainly focus on the Bing Business Portal
 
 
The Bing Business Portal is something that has SEOs and small business owners excited. This tool allows for better visibility of brick and mortar businesses to get their name out and show customers what they can offer. This tool gives the ability to advertise what you sell, any new deals that you might be offering, events you might be throwing, and general information about your company and how to reach out. The Bing Business Portal has a robust feature that allows for full customization of your Business Portal page. This also includes customization of your listing in the search engine ranking pages.
The offers segment can be used as single or group offers. Once published these offers show up in your local listing for your customers to click on and view the deal. This is a benefit that was not available for small businesses before. The Bing Business Portal also provides the option of planning and promoting your upcoming events in the search engine ranking pages. This will come in handy if you frequently have events or just want that extra edge of visibility.
The “What I Sell” option is another feature, which is a one stop shop for users to review your products and services. For example, if you are a retailer you might want to showcase that you have the latest and greatest products that are on the market. If you are a service provider you might want to show that you provide unique services in your industry that otherwise might not have been visible on the web.
Bing has truly created something that is a powerful tool for small businesses. With so many options to help reach your customers there is no reason a local business should not be taking advantage of this product.