Bing Places for Business: Modernized experience for managing business listings
We redesigned Bing Places for Business, the platform used to create and manage business listings in Bing.
Project type
End-to-end website redesign
Skills
Responsive website redesign
Problem framing
Customer journey & pain point analysis
Prototyping
Visual refresh
Design system application
Team
1 Product Manager
11 Engineers
2 Researchers
2 Product Designers
Role
Product Designer
CONTEXT
The Bing Places for Business Portal needed a refresh.
This was the Bing Places for Business portal in 2024. It's where business owners create and manage business listings that appear on Bing search engine and maps results.
Problem
Business owners don't see the value in connecting with Bing Local Search users. Additionally, the current site was outdated, difficult to use, and impersonal.
Opportunity
Offer an effortless platform that helps small business owners see the value of placing their listing on Bing, understand listing trends, and optimize them to attract new online customers.
GOALS
Customer goals
- Easily view and understand the performance of their listing(s)
- Seamlessly enhance and curate listings across various platforms
- Gain more online leads
- Increase sales by increasing business awareness
Business goals
- Improve adoption and usability
- Increase no. of users from 2.5 to 10 million
- Upsell MSFT Ads, Clarity, and Webmaster tools
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH
We needed to understand the current pain points to inform what to prioritize in the platform redesign.
THEMES IN OPPORTUNITIES
1 / Modernize and build trust
2 / Guide small business owners toward success
3 / Reduce friction
| Pain points | Opportunities | Priority | In scope? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outdated look and feel leads to distrust | Modernize design | 1 | ✅ |
| Struggle with optimized listings, online presence management | Provide personalized tips and recommendations | 1 | ✅ |
| Google sync functionality is good but inconsistent, fails occasionally | Fix GMB sync issues and make syncing with Google an effortless experience | 1 | ✅ |
| Poor onboarding process in Bing | Make the onboarding easy with reduced steps | 1 | ✅ |
| Need help in translating data into improvement actions | Add better insights within analytics that help SMBs take next steps to grow their business | 1 | ✅ |
| Lack of rich data options on Bing listings — reviews, before/after photos, detailed service areas, posts, offers | Integrate more features and promote current features on Bing and Bing Places | 1 | |
| Measuring the performance of listings and ads is difficult, and to understand what to do next so it manually or consider hiring an expert | Improved insights and analytics translating data into action | 2 | ✅ |
| SMBs are multitasking with limited budget and time, less the brand power | Guided experience that supports SMBs with personalization | 2 | ✅ |
| Need to improve search result rankings, tips and guidance about how to optimize | Tighter integration with Microsoft Webmaster | 2 | ✅ |
| Bing and Bing Places are not a priority for SMBs | Showcase Bing benefits on homepage and via analytics | 2 | ✅ |
| Lack of notifications for business owners to claim business and add details | Mailers for identified business owners to claim business in Bing Places | 2 | ✅ |
| Need more FAQs and tutorials for quick onboarding | Update FAQs/tutorial videos | 2 | |
| Help SMBs grow with special advertising credits, help them learn optimal ad growth | SMB-specific advertising discounts and offer information | 2 | ✅ |
| SMBs are asking for AI-based insights from analytics and for listing optimization | AI/Copilot integration to help | 2 | |
| Lack of support and results | AI/Copilot integration | 3 |
JAMMING WITH THE PRODUCT TEAM
Early stakeholder involvement gave us quick alignment and the right perspectives to shape user needs and solutions.
How might we offer value to business owners?
Stakeholders involved: Designers, Product Manager, Researcher, Data Scientist, Engineers, UX Writer.
MANAGEMENT PORTAL: DESIGNS AND USABILITY TESTS
The listing management portal is where the bulk of the UX complexity lies, and where we have the greatest opportunity to guide users with tips and recommendations that reduce friction their listing management. We wanted to understand which layout performed best and whether the new features effectively addressed their pain points.
Prototype A.
Presents listing details and analytics upfront, creating a more information-dense view that let users see key details immediately
Prototype B.
Intentionally surfaces less information, emphasizing actionable and recommended items to give users a quick, gainable overview while guiding their attention toward next steps.
FINDINGS
67% of participants preferred A over B
They liked that they could see everything at a glance and fewer clicks are required - it "feels more efficient". Participants valued seeing the analytics clearly on the initial screen.
Participants like having personalized insights
All participants loved the analytics & valued the contextual tips to help improve their listing
The listing edit flow was intuitive
None of the participants had issues editing. All understood & welcomed AI assistance
Desire to personalize listings
Participants wanted the ability to include more details, especially unique attributes of their business
Final Designs
HOMEPAGE
Address goals and real needs, not product features.
The homepage needed to clearly communicate the value of listing a business on Bing. We focused on highlighting audience reach, the tools available to help business owners expand their visibility, and the insights that help them understand performance.
SIMPLIFIED ONBOARDING
Shift non-essential fields to post-onboarding.
We cut the onboarding process from 24 steps to 7. This streamlined flow reduces friction at a critical point in the funnel and helps users reach the portal faster, with less cognitive load.
5 out of 5 participants rated the onboarding paths 5 (very easy).
“Streamlined” • ”Quick and easy” • ”Very user-friendly”
MANAGEMENT PORTAL
Surface listing details and analytics upfront.
Based on the initial user study, we chose a dashboard layout that gave users an immediate view of their business and performance, while still allowing them to quickly dive into the edit view and deeper analytics when needed.
3 out of 5 participants preferred this dashboard over Google Business Profile.
"Intuitive, straightforward" • "Cleaner, less cluttered" • "More comprehensive" • "More professional, but bland"
RESPONSIVE DESIGN
Ensuring usability across all device sizes.
Because business owners frequently make small updates on the go, we ensured the portal delivered a consistent, reliable experience across all screen sizes, from desktop to mobile.
Opportunities
Opportunities to improve Bing Places for Business, post MVP.
Boost product awareness
4 out of 5 usability participants were not aware of Bing Places for Business before study, and the initial research had also pointed to lack of product awareness. There are opportunities to emphasize claiming or managing a listing by proactively notifying business owners to claim their businesses.
Provide opportunities for personalization
In the initial user research, business owners expressed a desire to more accurately represent their businesses and brand through rich data like highlighted reviews, before/after photos, special posts, and more.
AI/Copilot integration
AI creates opportunities for even more personalized support and listing enhancement. It could surface insights based on similar businesses, highlight relevant target audiences, and offer tools that help owners generate tailored posts and content.