Bing Places for Business is Microsoft's version of Google Business Profile: a free listing that controls how your business appears in Bing search results and on Bing Maps. Most contractors set up Google and forget Bing exists. That's an easy mistake to fix, especially if your Google profile is already in good shape, because Bing can import it.

This guide covers the Bing Places for Business login, the fastest way to claim your Bing business listing, verification, and the settings that matter for HVAC, plumbing, roofing and other service-area businesses.

Why a contractor should bother with Bing

  • It's free, and with a Google import most of the work is already done.
  • Bing has its own audience. Microsoft says Bing has over 140 million daily active users. Fewer than Google, but not zero, and you're competing with fewer contractors who've bothered to set up a listing.
  • Bing may already have a listing for you. It builds listings from Bing Places and many third-party data sources. If you don't claim the listing, you don't control what's on it: an old phone number, wrong hours or a closed second location.

Step 1: Sign in to Bing Places for Business

Bing Places has moved: bingplaces.com now redirects to bing.com/forbusiness, so either address gets you to the same Bing Places for Business login.

Select Sign in and use any of these accounts:

  • Microsoft account
  • Work account
  • Google
  • Facebook

The listings you claim or create are tied to the email address you sign in with. Use a business email that will outlive any one employee, not a tech's personal Gmail.

Step 2: Import from Google Business Profile (the fast route)

If you already have a verified Google Business Profile, this is the quickest way to add your business to Bing:

  1. In your Bing Places account, select Import from your Google Business Profile.
  2. Choose how often to sync: weekly, biweekly or monthly.
  3. Sign in to the Google account that manages your Business Profile.
  4. Import the listings Bing detects.

If the business is already verified on Google, Bing verifies the imported listing automatically. It then goes through Bing's normal publishing cycle, typically 7 to 12 days.

Know the trade-offs before you import:

  • Edit in Google, not Bing. For listings linked to Google, direct editing in the Bing Places dashboard isn't currently available. Change the listing in Google Business Profile and let the sync carry it over.
  • You can't pick which listings to import. Bing imports every eligible listing it finds in the Google account.
  • Duplicates can happen, especially if Bing already had a listing for your business.
  • Not everything syncs exactly. Bing says categories and Google UTM tags may not match between platforms, so check them after the import.

You can turn off future syncing from the menu in the upper-right corner (Google Business Profile sync). That stops the sync but doesn't unlink the accounts.

If your Google profile is in poor shape, fix it first, or Bing will copy the problems. Our Google Business Profile guide for contractors walks through it.

Step 3: Claim your Bing business listing manually

If you don't use Google Business Profile, or would rather manage Bing separately:

  1. Sign in to Bing Places for Business.
  2. Select your country, then search for your business name and location.
  3. If your business appears and isn't claimed yet, claim it. If several results appear, choose the one that matches your address and report the duplicates.
  4. If no listing exists, select Create a new business and enter your details.
  5. If someone else has already claimed the listing (a former employee or an old marketing agency, for example), use Bing's request access process rather than creating a second listing.

Nothing you change goes live until the listing is verified.

Moved your shop? Bing recommends creating a new listing with the new address and marking the old one as closed, rather than editing the old listing. The old listing stays connected to data sources tied to the previous address, and editing it can create conflicts.

Step 4: Verify your business on Bing

Verification proves you own the listing and protects it from unauthorized changes. Bing sends a PIN by one of these methods; not every option is offered to every business:

  • Phone call: only offered if the existing listing already contains your business phone number and it hasn't been edited.
  • Text message: a PIN sent by text, where offered.
  • Email: sent to the email on your account, so make sure it's one you can access.
  • Postcard: typically arrives in 5 to 6 business days in the US. Bing suggests waiting at least 12 days before contacting support.

The PIN must be entered from the same account that requested it. If a PIN doesn't work, check whether an agency or someone else on your team started verification from a different account.

Once verified, Bing shows the expected publish date next to your Verified status.

Step 5: Set up a service-area business (hide your address)

Most contractors work at customers' homes and don't want their home address on a map. Like Google, Bing lets you hide your address and list service areas instead:

  1. Open your listing and select Edit.
  2. Enter your complete, accurate address and choose a category. Bing requires both before you can hide the address.
  3. In Service areas, add the cities, regions or ZIP codes you serve, pressing Enter after each. You can add up to 20.
  4. Turn on the option to hide your address. Bing only allows this once you've added service areas.
  5. Save.

Bing still needs your address for verification, but doesn't show it publicly. Bing says service areas appear on live listings only for some categories and regions. You can't use a PO box, or a mailing address that you don't operate from.

Step 6: Complete the rest of your Bing business profile

  • Business name: the name customers know you by. Bing prohibits descriptors like "best" or "cheap" in the name unless they're legally part of it, and says breaking its data quality guidelines can lead to suspension.
  • Phone: a working number that reaches your business, not a lead reseller's or partner's.
  • Website: your own site. Don't use a Facebook page as your main website; add social profiles in their own section.
  • Categories: up to 10 in total, one primary plus nine secondary. Make the primary the one that best describes your core work.
  • Hours: up to two time slots per day, or 24/7 if someone really answers around the clock.
  • Photos: up to 100. Use real photos of your crew, trucks and jobs.
  • Services offered: list the specific services you do. If you sync with Google, these are imported automatically.
  • Announcements: for timely offers and updates, not permanent information.

Bing checks the basic details (name, address, phone, website, hours, category and open/closed status) against trusted external data. If what you enter doesn't match what Bing finds elsewhere, the change may not publish, or may be overwritten later. That's why consistent business details across your website and directories matter.

Step 7: Wait for publishing, and don't keep editing

After verification, Bing says listings usually publish in 7 to 12 days in North America. Every edit sends a new version for publishing and resets the expected publish date, so make your changes in one go and wait for them to appear before making more. Photos and other updates can take longer.

If your listing still isn't live after a full publishing cycle, contact Bing Places support.

How Bing ranks local listings

Bing says it ranks local results on three things:

  1. Relevance: how well your listing matches the search. A complete listing helps, and Bing says your website's SEO plays an important role too.
  2. Distance from the person searching.
  3. Popularity: reviews and ratings on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor, and how often your business is mentioned across the web.

The practical takeaways are the same as for Google: a complete listing, consistent details everywhere, a solid website (see our contractor website checklist) and service area pages for the towns you want work from.

Bing Places checklist

  • Signed in with a business email, not a personal one
  • Google Business Profile imported, or the existing Bing listing claimed (no duplicates)
  • Listing verified
  • Address hidden if customers don't visit; up to 20 service areas added
  • Real business name, working phone and your own website
  • Primary and secondary categories checked after any Google import
  • Hours, services and real photos added
  • No further edits until the listing is published