Most local businesses pour all their energy into Google Business Profile and forget that Microsoft runs its own local search ecosystem. Bing search, Bing Maps and Microsoft's Copilot experiences all draw on business data, and the place you control that data is Bing Places for Business. If you have never claimed your listing, Bing may still be showing customers an old phone number, last year's opening hours or no listing at all.
The good news is that Bing Places is free, quick to set up and, since Microsoft's October 2025 redesign, easier than ever to sync with an existing Google profile. The competition is also lighter: many of your rivals have never logged in.
This guide explains what changed in the new Bing Places, walks you through setup step by step, and shows you how to optimise every field so your business is accurate and competitive in Bing's local results in 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Bing Places for Business moved from bingplaces.com to bing.com/forbusiness in October 2025; existing accounts were migrated automatically.
- You can import a verified Google Business Profile, which is usually the fastest way to create and verify a Bing listing.
- Importing is only the start: check categories, hours, photos and service areas manually after the sync.
- Bing displays reviews from third-party sites, so your reputation on Yelp, Facebook and TripAdvisor matters here too.
- Pair Bing Places with Bing Webmaster Tools and IndexNow so Microsoft sees both your listing and your website quickly.
What is Bing Places for Business?
Bing Places for Business is Microsoft's free tool for creating and managing local business listings. Microsoft describes it simply:
“Bing Places for Business is a free online platform where businesses can create and manage their listings”
— Microsoft Bing Blogs, Introducing the New Bing Places for Business
Your listing controls the name, address, phone number, hours, categories, photos and links that appear when someone searches for your business or for a service near them on Bing and Bing Maps. Think of it as the Microsoft equivalent of your Google profile. If you are new to the wider discipline, our local SEO guide explains how listings, reviews and your website work together.
Why it is worth 30 minutes of your time
- Desktop and work users. Bing is the default search engine in Microsoft Edge and Windows search, so office-based customers often reach you through it without choosing to.
- AI assistants. Microsoft has said it plans deeper integration of Bing Places with Bing Maps and Copilot, so accurate data here is likely to matter more over time.
- Consistency. A wrong phone number on any major platform undermines trust and creates conflicting data. Bing is one of the core sources in any local citation clean-up.
- Low competition. Because many businesses ignore Bing, a complete, accurate listing can stand out quickly.
What changed in the 2025 redesign
On 3 October 2025 Microsoft launched a rebuilt Bing Places experience. The key changes are summarised below.
| Area | Before | Now (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Web address | bingplaces.com | bing.com/forbusiness (old logins redirect) |
| Existing accounts | Managed in the old dashboard | Migrated automatically to the new interface |
| Google import | Available but sometimes unreliable | Rebuilt flow that Microsoft says better preserves name, hours and contact details |
| Optimisation help | Little guidance | A Recommendation Tool that suggests missing photos, website, hours, social links and category-specific items (for example menus for restaurants) |
| Roadmap | - | Microsoft has announced plans for deeper Bing Maps and Copilot integration and more support for agencies |
Microsoft also confirmed the migration is automatic:
“Our current users and their business listings will be automatically migrated to the new account”
— Microsoft Bing Blogs, Introducing the New Bing Places for Business
How to set up Bing Places for Business: step by step
- Get your Google profile in order first. If you plan to import, fix any errors in your Google Business Profile before you sync, otherwise you will copy them across. Our article on Google Business Profile ranking factors covers what a strong profile looks like.
- Go to bing.com/forbusiness and sign in. Use a Microsoft, work or school account that belongs to the business, not to a freelancer who might leave. Agencies should add clients as users rather than owning listings outright.
- Choose import or manual creation. Importing from Google Business Profile is the quickest route for a verified Google listing; coverage of the relaunch reports that imported listings can be verified immediately. Otherwise, search for your business to claim an existing listing or add a new one.
- Complete verification. If your listing is not verified through the import, follow the verification options shown in the dashboard. Use contact details you can actually receive messages on, and make sure the name, address and phone number match your real-world business.
- Review every imported field. Imports do not always map categories, special hours or attributes perfectly. Go through the listing line by line.
- Act on the Recommendation Tool. Work through its suggestions for missing photos, links and details.
- Connect Bing Webmaster Tools. Verify your website in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit your XML sitemap and consider IndexNow so Bing discovers page changes quickly.
- Set a review reminder. Check the listing at least quarterly and after any change of hours, phone number, address or services.
How to optimise your Bing Places listing
Bing's local ranking principles are similar to Google's: relevance, distance and prominence. You cannot change your distance from a searcher, but you can make your listing as complete, accurate and relevant as possible. Use this field-by-field checklist.
| Field | Best practice | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Your real-world name exactly as it appears on signage and documents | Adding keywords or locations that are not part of your legal or trading name |
| Address and pin | Exact street address; drag the map pin onto your entrance | Virtual offices or PO boxes presented as a storefront |
| Service area | List the towns or areas you actually serve; hide your address if customers do not visit | Listing a whole region you rarely cover |
| Phone | A local number that is answered during business hours; keep it consistent with your website | Rotating numbers across platforms |
| Website | Link to the most relevant page (often a location page) with UTM tags for tracking | Linking to a generic homepage for every branch |
| Categories | The most specific primary category, plus genuinely relevant secondary ones | Off-topic categories added for extra exposure |
| Hours | Accurate regular hours plus special hours for holidays | 24/7 unless you truly operate around the clock |
| Photos | Exterior, interior, team, products and work examples; BrightLocal notes listings can hold up to 100 images | Stock photos and logos only |
| Description and links | Plain description of services; add social profile links | Keyword stuffing, prices that go out of date |
Track Bing traffic properly
Add UTM parameters to the website link on your listing (for example ?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=bing-places) so visits from the listing show up separately in GA4 rather than blending into general Bing organic traffic.
Send the listing to a strong landing page
For multi-location businesses, each Bing listing should point to its own location page with the same name, address and phone number, embedded map and local proof. Our guide to local landing pages explains how to build those pages so they rank in their own right.
Reviews on Bing
Unlike Google, Bing does not rely mainly on its own review system. Listings commonly show ratings and reviews pulled from third-party platforms such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and Facebook, depending on your industry and country. That has practical implications:
- Keep your profiles on those platforms claimed and accurate, because their content can surface on Bing.
- Ask happy customers for reviews across more than one platform, within each platform's rules.
- Respond to reviews where they are left. Our guide to online review management covers monitoring and response templates.
Bing Places vs Google Business Profile vs Apple Business Connect
Most businesses should maintain all three. Each feeds a different set of maps, assistants and devices.
| Feature | Bing Places | Google Business Profile | Apple Business Connect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | Free |
| Main surfaces | Bing search, Bing Maps, Microsoft experiences | Google Search, Google Maps | Apple Maps, Siri, Spotlight |
| Import from Google | Yes | - | Not as a direct sync |
| Reviews | Largely third-party sources | Native Google reviews | Ratings and third-party partners |
| Guide | This article | How to rank on Google Maps | Apple Business Connect guide |
Common mistakes with Bing Places
- Importing and forgetting. An import copies today's data. If you later change hours on Google, update Bing too, or re-check the sync.
- Using a personal Microsoft account. When that person leaves, you can lose access. Use a business-owned account and add others as users.
- Keyword-stuffed names. Even if it seems to work briefly, it creates inconsistency with your signage and other citations and can lead to edits or suspension on other platforms that share data.
- Duplicate listings. Old listings for previous addresses or phone numbers confuse customers. Claim and close or merge them through support.
- Wrong pin placement. A pin dropped in the middle of a car park or the wrong side of the road sends customers to the wrong place.
- Ignoring service-area settings. If you visit customers rather than the other way round, set your service area and hide the address. See our guide to SEO for service-area businesses.
Related Guides
- Local Landing Pages: How to Create Pages That Rank
- SEO for Lawyers: How Law Firms Win More Clients
- Dental SEO: How Dentists Can Attract More Patients
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bing Places for Business free?
Yes. Creating, claiming and managing a listing costs nothing. Microsoft Advertising is a separate, paid product.
Where do I log in now that bingplaces.com has moved?
Go to bing.com/forbusiness. Microsoft redirects existing Bing Places logins there, and existing listings were migrated automatically in the October 2025 redesign.
Can I import my Google Business Profile into Bing?
Yes. The import is the quickest way to create a Bing listing, and a verified Google profile can speed up verification. Always review the imported data afterwards.
How long does it take for my listing to appear on Bing?
It varies. Imported, verified listings tend to go live faster than new manual listings, which may need verification and review first.
Does Bing Places help with AI search?
Accurate listing data gives Microsoft's search and assistant products reliable facts about your business, and Microsoft has said it plans deeper Copilot integration. It is not a guarantee of being mentioned in AI answers.
Conclusion
Bing Places for Business takes less than an hour to set up properly and then a few minutes each quarter to maintain. Import from Google to save time, but treat the import as a first draft: check every field, add real photos, point each listing to a strong location page and keep your reviews healthy across the platforms Bing draws from.
Want every listing, from Google and Bing to Apple Maps and key directories, accurate and working together? Our local map listings service and wider local SEO services handle it end to end. Get a free quote today.
