Want to get noticed in Bing maps? Tag your Flickr Photos!

Whilst I love working at Microsoft, I sometimes wish that I was responsible for a local business, since the opportunities emerging to get noticed in local and hyper local search are phenomenal!

Just five years ago, the best way to research a new destination was to search for the place name, find a good guide website and perhaps look at some photos using image search.  I have planned many holidays over the years, some of which were organised for me, others which I meticulously researched and planned right down to details such as how to walk from my hotel to the boat hire shop. Recently I have tried to make use of the great technologies in Bing maps such as birds eye and street level imagery, which allow me to virtually visit many trip destinations before I even leave the sofa. 

The Bing maps team have pleasantly surprised me this week with some absolutely amazing demos at TED which show how they will be pulling in Geo Tagged flickr images, live streaming videos and points of interest in to the mapping experience.  Discoverability is no longer just about search, it’s about location!  I strongly recommend checking out this video and starting to think about how your business may be able to benefit from location tagged images, videos and other content…

Author: Chris Moore is a Program Manager working on Search Engine Optimisation at Microsoft.  https://www.twitter.com/chrismdotcom

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