8 Local Search Engine Optimization Tips for Bing

Bing may not match Google when it comes to market share, but it still gets millions of searches every day. That’s why marketers should look to benefit from this popular search engine to help business perform well on the web. However, the algorithm for Bing works quite differently to that of Google, so it’s important to first understand the pros and cons of optimizing for this search engine.

It’s true that Google gets the lion’s share of marketers when optimizing for SEO is done. But it would be a mistake if a business does not benefit from some other search engines as well like Bing to grow their base and widen their reach. Low market share should never deter you form benefiting secondary search engines as it’s all about reaching to more places and more people for better conversions.

Plus, Bing is there for long and marketers can leverage this search engine and ensure that nothing is left to desire for a business. Naturally, local search engine optimization strategies with Bing will be entirely different to that of Google but the purpose remains the same – to make the business perform well in search engine rankings.

Here are some local search engine optimization tips for Bing –

1. Use Bing Places
In Google, you have ‘Google My Business’ to list everything about your company for benefits in local search. In Bing, the same task is done with ‘Bing Places’ which you can use to ensure best local search results for the business.
So, first up, you need to feature location details and then hope optimization rewards from Bing. And yes, here, you need to give more focus to social signals from third party platforms be it Facebook for better local rankings.
With simple instructions, you can list your business in ‘Bing Places’ and then complete the verification via email, text message or phone call etc. Once the verification is done, Bing will list and publish your business automatically for local optimization purposes.

2. Have Images or Pictures
Once your business listing is done with Bing, the next thing is line is to use images or pictures to gain trust and authority from users. By using high-quality images of the office building and infrastructure, you can easily gain confidence of users. In fact, business listings with images are more likely to be clicked through by users to reach the site. This is how you can encourage prospects and boost conversion rates for your business.

3. Publish Reviews
Customers today read reviews before engaging with brands. This gives them a peek into various aspects and adds heft to decision making. So, if your business listing is devoid of reviews, chances are nobody would bother to click through it to reach your site.
If reviews are there, it may encourage users to take some action. So, you can urge or encourage customers to leave genuine reviews for better performance in local searches. But yes, avoid succumbing to the lure of fake reviews as users today are smart and they would find it out, which can harm your reputation in the long run.
And yes, even if reviews are not favourable, get them published as they will help customers get some idea about your business. And yes, avoid buying 5-star reviews!

4. Leverage social media
Having a social presence is essential for a business to do well in local searches of Bing. Because, its algorithm uses social signals to analyse the quality of content, which can impact rankings. And when it comes to social media presence, you have to be on Facebook and Twitter to get seen by the majority.
Being on social media alone won’t help much as you also need to look for more engagement and more social signals (shares, likes, retweets etc.). This will ensure higher rankings on Bing. And yes, avoid buying followers, likes whatever as they might affect your prospects in the long run.

5. Caution with On-Page Optimization
Some caution is required when you decide to do on-page optimization for Bing else it might negatively affect your business Google SERPs. This happens because both the algorithms follow an entirely different approaches and it’s better to have your priority chalked out in advance.
You should also know the Bing Algorithm is not as complicated as Google’s and it still works by matching keywords to queries. So, if you want to do well in Bing SERPs, focus more on inserting keywords in the text, pay attention to the keyword density, and have keywords for titles (H1), subheadings (H2) and opening paragraphs.

6. Have Proper Tags and Categories
Look, lots of users will be quite specific with search terms and to cater them well you must use tags and categories. This helps make the site more easily searchable (discoverable as well). The good thing, adding tags and categories is some simple with the CMS like WordPress and you won’t break a sweat for sure. So, be good with tags and categories to feature prominently in Bing’s SERPs.

7. Be Conventional with Link Building
When it comes to inbound links, Bing’s view is similar to Google and you need to keep that is mind. Here in Bing, links that grow organically get more rewards while abusive tactics get penalized. Plus, you have to give more emphasis on link quantity than link quality for better results at optimization. Additionally, having exact match anchor text links will also ensure more rewards that it does in Google.

8. Boost Page Load Time
User experience matters whether in Bing or Google. And when a site’s pages load slower than normal, it always ruins user experience. To avoid putting off users, you can use the Bing Webmaster Tools and check the page load time and take appropriate action. The tool will also help you know the ways to improve page load time of the site if it does not load as fast as it should. You can also take help of a top digital marketing company and rectify all the mistakes in your site.