Thanks for checking out the second post in our ongoing series about Microsoft Search. If you haven't already enabled Microsoft Search in Bing, please read our first post "Is Microsoft Search in Bing right for your organization?" to decide if Microsoft Search in Bing is right choice for your organization.
In this blog post, we'll cover ways to personalize Microsoft Search in Bing for your organization, how you can make best use of these powerful features, and we'll give some recommendations as we discuss them. For basics on using the features, the online help is the best resource.
You may have already setup some of these features while using the Quick setup wizard. You can always revisit the Wizard from the admin portal. In the upper-right corner of the portal, open the Help menu, and click "Quick setup wizard".
- Content settings: Control the look and feel of Microsoft Search in Bing results and clearly identify your organization results. Changing the logo height can make it appear larger or smaller on the results page. Also, users can send feedback about your org's results, so it's important to enter a valid feedback email address and monitor the emails received.
- Users & Permissions: Manage portal access for administrators or editors and provide or restrict access to Microsoft Search in Bing within your organization. Microsoft Search in Bing gives 3 levels of permissions: Admins, Editors, and Users. Editors can view all the features in the Admin portal, but are limited to managing content under Bookmarks, Q&As, and Locations. As new features are released, Editors may get access to additional content areas, but in general they're restricted to creating and managing content.
- Bookmarks: Create promoted results to help people find important tools and resources within the organization by placing them at the top of Bing results. When you search the web and find a great site or a page, your likely reaction is to bookmark it so you can easily find it again later. Similarly, Microsoft Search in Bing allows you to create a bookmark for any internal or external webpage, which can be searched by users in your organization. Creating a bookmark is simple, but advanced features like Power App integration and bulk create or edit bookmarks can help you streamline your content creation and save time for your users. Microsoft Search in Bing is pre-populated with a set of default bookmarks were either published or added to the drafts list. Take few minutes to explore these bookmarks and fine tune them for your organization. A bookmark can have several keywords and bookmarks can share the same keyword, but reserved keyword can't be shared. Using these powerful features let you control which bookmarks are displayed when a user searches for a keyword.
Tip: When creating or modifying a bookmark, the search index is refreshed immediately and the bookmark is available to users who search on bing.com/business. - Q&As: Answer the most frequently asked questions in your organization. Similar to bookmarks, Q&As allow you to answer the user's question instead of just providing a link to webpage, and using the available tools, to format the answer in rich text. If a bookmark and a Q&A share the same keyword, the bookmark result is shown first.
Tip: Like bookmarks, the Q&A index is refreshed immediately after a Q&A is added or changed. Remember to use the import/export feature to bulk edit or make backups of your Q&A content. - Locations: Show map results and address information for buildings, offices, campuses, and other important places. Provide an accurate location for offices, campuses, and buildings, along with directions and navigation for mobile devices. Consider adding all your organization's important locations. You can also customize the location identifier on the map by dragging it to a precise location. Users can find a location by searching for the location name, keywords, or reserved keywords. To make offline changes or back up your location content, use the import/export feature. Unlike bookmarks and Q&As, the index is not refreshed immediately and it can take several hours for new or changed locations to appear in search results.
TIP: Any user can search for Microsoft Search in Bing results by visiting bing.com/business from any device, including tablets or mobile devices. Imagine the power and benefit of search results when people in your organization are away from their office or laptops.
Check back later for our third post in this ongoing series about Microsoft Search, where we'll discuss leveraging built-in tools available in Microsoft Search in Bing.
Happy searching!
What topics would you like to discuss in future Microsoft Search in Bing posts or webinars? Reply to this blog post and share your ideas!
Below are important resources for Microsoft Search in Bing: