Originally announced in June, the new Bing local search extensions are finally here. Smart advertisers will be hurrying to upload data so that they can take full advantage of the new system, and the good news is that – in a rare departure from the traditional proprietary search engine approach –the new system makes it easy to transfer data directly from Google AdWords.
Every enhanced ad on Bing now displays a click for directions link. Clicks on this are charged at the standard rate but take users directly to Bing maps or its counterpart on Yahoo, making business premises easy to find. Adding to the usefulness of this feature is the option to include multiple premises. Based on GPS data, a search will display up to three premises, prioritizing the ones closest to the user’s location.
In addition to these features, the new system offers a click to call option on smartphones, increasing the probability that inquiries will turn into quick sales. With mobile devices ever-more important in local search, this may not be an unusual development but it is important in bringing Bing up to speed with its rivals. This means that it is worth going to the trouble of adding individual store numbers rather than just a general customer services line.
For businesses that do not yet have the necessary data in place, it is easy to add it from the Ad Extensions tab of the new Bing Ads Editor. Usefully, once the data is there it can be opted in or out of different advertising campaigns. This means that, for instance, a business running special offers in targeted stores could ensure they came up in an associated campaign without its other stores being visible in the same searches.
Click and sale data on individual locations will be able to be processed separately through the new system, meaning users can compare the performance of individual stores across time, identifying trends. By using weekend markers it will be possible to tell if patterns of store use change between weekends and week days, providing useful data to feed into targeted campaigns so that the right stores can be promoted at the right times. By focusing on individual stores in this manner, businesses can increase the sale rate proportionate to their overall advertising spend.
For more information on using the new Bing features and developing an effective local search campaign, call Xcellimark at 888-318-3950 ext 211 to speak with an internet marketing consultant today.
