Bing has added a bulk upload tool for local business owners with multiple locations. Actually, “system” might be the more accurate word instead of “tool,” because it requires a Bing rep to “help with the setup process.” Here’s a look at how it works:

When logged in to your Bing Business Portal account, you should see a new “Add 25+” button right above your existing listings.

Clicking the button leads to a popup window with the following message:

FOR BUSINESSES WITH MANY LISTINGS

Bing makes claiming numerous listings quick and hassle-free. Please provide yo

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Longtime readers will probably remember some old posts here on SBSM in which I answer questions from readers. The topics have ranged from general SEO to very specific questions about local listings.

It’s been about a year since I’ve done a mailbag post, and I’d like to change that. If you have a question or topic for the SBSM Mailbag, something you don’t mind me blogging about so all can discuss it, learn from it, etc., send me an email with as much detail as possible. Can’t promise I’ll be able to answer everything, but I can promise you’ll never get an answer if you don’t ask first.

Hi everyone. Here are the problems I’ve been pondering this week:

1) Last year I moved one of my best craftsmen from the shop floor into the office to do sales. We’ve been working together closely, and he’s been very successful. So far this year, he’s made 47 percent of our sales, and I’ve made the other 53 percent, and sales this year have been coming at a pace 35 percent higher than last year. (We’re on track to do $2.1 million this year, as opposed to $1.57 million in 2010.)

Our sales process involves communications by phone and e-mail, and the production of proposals using four different software programs. Nathan has mastered the process, but we both feel that he could be better at speaking on the phone. Phone calls

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve written about using Delicious.com and/or question-based keyword research tools for blog content ideas.

There’s a more obvious source of content inspiration right underneath your nose: Your web analytics program. And it might be the best source of ideas. Know why?

Because analytics gives you the clearest picture of what visitors are looking for when they come to your site.

There’s no other way, short of personally asking every visitor you get, to find out what people want from you.

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Google Places turned a year old this week, which is kinda like 10 years in Internet time. And, like many 10-year-olds, Google Places is getting to that stage between being a cute kid and a troublesome teenager.

It’s been quite a first year for Google Places — a year filled with both hits and misses. I’d love your opinions on the good and bad; first, here are mine.

Before I start, a clarification: I’m referring below to what used to be the Google Local Business Center and its associated Place Pages. The LBC

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In my last post, I discussed whether it might be a good idea to sell your business before (or after) 2013 — a complex decision that is looking even murkier. What seems crystal clear, on the other hand, is that now is a fantastic time to give shares of a business to family members.

At the end of 2010, Congress increased the lifetime gift tax exemption to $5 million, from $1 million, for individuals and to $10 million, from $2 million, for married couples. These changes, however, are set to expire in 2013, creating a two-year window of opportunity for business owners to keep more of the family business in the family and less of the business from going to Uncle Sam in the form of federal estate and gift taxes. “

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