Claiming your Bing Local listing is another of the FREE services that you can use to make your shop's presence known and control the information that search engines see about your flower shop. It's as simple as that. Flower Shop Network is always looking for new and easy ways to promote your shop so we have created this visual guide and tutorial to claiming your Bing Local listing.

How To Claim Your Bing Local Listing

**Note: You will need a Windows Live account to claim your Bing Local listing. If you use Hotmail, Xbox Live or Messenger,  you already have a Windows Live ID and can log in using the email address you use to access those programs. If you do not have one, skip to the section titled "Create A Windows Live Account" and return to this section once you have completed that process.**

Creating your Bing Local listing begins by visiting the Bing Local Listing Center. Here you will be given the option to create a new listing by clicking "add new listing."

If you already have a Windows Live ID and are logged in, your screen will tell you whether you have any listings associated with that ID or not. This is helpful in the event that multiple people use the same email address for your company (such as info@myflowershop.com) and have set up an account before that you were not aware of. If you do NOT have a Windows Live ID, you will see the normal Bing Local Listing Center home page. Proceed following the onscreen instructions after clicking "add new listing."

Next you will be taken to a screen that asks for several sets of information. A progress bar at the top shows your progress through each of the four screens in this process. The first of these is your contact information including your business name, physical address (not P.O. Box), city, state, 5 digit zip code, and phone number. These are all required fields. Once you have filled out this information click the "check listing" button at the bottom of the text boxes. This will check to see if a listing or similar listing exists for your business.

There is also an explanation of Bing Local listings at the bottom of this box. If you have any questions about what your Bing Local listing can do for you, refer to the bulleted list at the bottom of the screen.

If your business is not found, you will see the screen at left. Simply click "continue" to add your listing. If your business is found, follow the on-screen instructions to edit your business.

The next few screens will still be the same. You will notice that the "What Is A Bing Local Listing" section remains throughout many of these screens. This is normal.

The next section asks for several boxes of information. The first of these is your personal contact information. This includes your first name, last name, phone number and email address. These are required fields. If you do not want to receive information about your listing from Bing, make sure to uncheck the box below this section next to the sentence "Sign me up for the Local Listing Center newsletter so I can receive information about my listing."

Next you are asked to fill out basic information about your flower shop. Business name, physical address, city, zip code and phone number are required fields.

You will also be asked to select your state and enter your toll free number (if applicable), fax number, primary web address and primary email address. These are not required fields but are very helpful for those wanting to contact you with this listing.You may also opt out of displaying this address by clicking the "do not display my address" button at the bottom of these boxes. However, you will still be required to list that information for Bing Local's records.

The next three boxes give you the opportunity to list any additional phone numbers, email addresses or websites. Simply click "add web  address," "add email address" or "add number" and a box will appear where you will enter this information.

Next you are asked to fill out your company's hours of operation. The button for "do not display" is already selected so you must first choose "open 24 hours a day" or "operating hours" to be able to edit your company's hours. There is also a box at the bottom of this section that allows you to fill out additional information about your operating hours. For example, "open all major holidays", "closed Christmas", "wedding flowers consultation by appointment only" and others.

You will next be asked to fill out your payment information. You may select multiple boxes, one for each of the payment methods that you accept.

Your Bing Local listing can include photos of your shop and your arrangements or similar things that will be helpful to customers browsing your listing. The next section on this screen allows you to upload photos. Simply click "browse" then find the photo that you want in your documents (usually in the "my documents" or "my pictures" folder) using the pop-up window that displays. Click "open" or "select" once you have clicked the photo in this pop-up window.

The title of your photo will display in the box next to "browse". From here, click "upload photo". The photo will preview on this screen once you have clicked this and the photo full uploads. A box will appear under the photo that allows you to title it. Note, there is a character limit so choose short but descriptive titles.

Next is a section asking for additional information. Here you will be able to list the year your company was established, a company tagline, a description of your business, brands that you carry, and your specialties.

Company Tagline refers to a single phrase used to add unique appeal to your shop. For instance, "Because every day is better with flowers from My Favorite Florist" or "Life Is In Bloom With My Favorite Florist."

Business Description refers to, well, a description of the business. This should include your city and state but never the name of your shop. It should include words that people will be searching for. An example is "Little Rock Arkansas florist delivering flowers daily to Little Rock, North Little Rock, Jacksonville, Sherwood and Cabot. Specializing in wedding flowers. Corporate accounts welcome." Keep it short and simple but describe your business thoroughly.

Brands That You Carry refers to the brand name items that you carry. Whether a popular local item or a national brand (such as Flower Shop Network), this is the place to include those items.

Specialties is where you will fill in the types of arrangements for which you have a flair. These can include wedding flowers, sympathy and funeral arrangements, unique gifts, corporate accounts, contemporary flower arrangements, European designs and other very descriptive forms of design that you emphasize.

The next section asks you to list your professional affiliations. Here you will list wire services (like Flower Shop Network), florist state associations and other professional associations that you are listed with.

The next two boxes ask you to select boxes next to languages that you speak and parking options that are provided by your shop. If you have any professional contacts (actual people names), you are able to list those below these two boxes. Simply click "add contact" and enter the name(s) in the boxes that are provided. To continue to the next sheet, click "next".

Your progress bar should show you as being on the second page. This asks you to categorize your shop. If you are not sure which category you fit into, type "florists" or "flowers" (if you are a wholesale flower provider) into the search bar. This will show the "Floral & Decor:  Florists" selection. Most standard flower shops and florists fit into this description. Click that selection and it will appear in the box on the right. You may select one category or more than one depending on what your shop specializes in. Once you are done in this section, click "next".

You will now be on the third page. This asks you to preview your listing. Make sure that the information is accurate. FYI, "Company Tagline" will be listed as "Company Slogan" on this page. If this informatio is accurate, click "next". If not, click "previous" and correct the inaccurate information on the previous page(s).

Once the correct information is listed and preview is correct, you will be taken to the fourth page which shows a service agreement between you and the Microsoft Corporation. This agreements asks you to view both agreements before clicking "I accept". By clicking "I accept" you agree to the terms and services in both agreements whether you have read them or not. This will complete the process to claiming your Bing Local listing and take you to a confirmation screen.

The confirmation screen will say "verification pending" and details the address to which a letter will be sent. You will be asked to follow the instructions in the letter to verify your listing. This is how Bing will verify that you are the owner of the business and a real person instead of a computer.

Now you're done! Congratulations on claiming your free Bing Local listing!

Create Your Windows Live Account

To create your Windows Live account, visit the Bing main page and click "sign in" at the top right side of the screen. If you do not have a Windows Live account and no one else with a windows account has logged on using that computer,you will be taken to a new screen asking you to enter your Windows Live ID on the right or sign up for a Windows Live ID on the left. Click the "sign up" button on the left side of the screen.

Next you will be taken to a new screen where you will complete information and be given your new Windows Live ID. The information screen that appears will ask for your current email address. If you use Hotmail, Xbox Live or Messenger,  you already have a Windows Live ID. If you do not, the email address that you enter will become your Windows Live ID. Next you will be asked to create a password and re-enter it to make sure that no typos exist.

You will then be asked for your first name, last name, country (select from drop-down box), state, 5 digit zip code, gender and birth year. Your gender is kept for Bing Local records but will not be used on your listing. Your birth year is asked only to verify that you are above the legal age minimum for obtaining an account (the minimum is 13).

You will aslo be asked to fill out a captcha. This is a series of stylized words and/or numbers that only humans are able to read and re-enter into the provided field. Captchas are used to prevent computer spammers from automatically filling out these fields.

That's it! You may be asked to verify your registration by clicking on a link sent in an email to the email address you provided. Otherwise, you're good to go and can begin claiming your Bing Local listing!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 7:47 am and is filed under Florists Only. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.