Google Ads vs Bing Ads: Which One is Right for Your Business?

If you were under the impression that Google Ads and Bing Ads are in direct competition, you may want to change your concept after reading the blog below. Both platforms are great tools for reaching a wide audience, and utilizing both will help you create a robust digital advertising strategy. Let us find out how in the article below.

Understanding Google Ads and Bing Ads

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads, also known as Google pay-per-click ads, is a platform that allows advertisers to display ads about their products and services on different Google platforms. One of the most popular platforms on which Google Ads work is the search engine.

So, we can say that by leveraging Google Ads, advertisers can display their ads for relevant search queries on the Google search engine results pages. In addition to this, Google Ads also helps you display YouTube ads, shopping ads, display ads, and much more.

What is Bing Ads?

Bing Ads is an online advertising platform owned by Microsoft. It offers various features that help advertisers reach the right audience. Bing Ads allows advertisers to target the right audience group based on their location, gender, online behavior, demography, and more.

Bing Ads are displayed in the Bing search engine, Microsoft-owned properties, and LinkedIn. They have several features, including ad extensions, accurate audience targeting, conversion tracking, ad preview tools, and more.

Audience Reach and Targeting Capabilities

Audience reach is one of the most crucial aspects of advertising. If you don’t reach the right audience, how will they know that a product like yours exists? So, let’s examine the audience reach of both platforms.

Google Ads Audience Reach

When it comes to audience reach, nothing beats Google Ads. The Google display and search networks help you reach a major section of internet users.

Google Ads captures 76% of the total search engine market share, enabling you to target the majority of your audience through the platform.

Bing Ads Audience Reach

The search engine market share of Bing Ads is 5%. This means that the total number of Bing users is low. So, if you want your online advertisements to reach a wide audience, Bing Ads is not a great idea.

This suggests that Google Ads are way ahead of Bing Ads in terms of audience reach.

Demographics and User Behavior on Google vs. Bing

Demographics and user behavior are also crucial factors in determining which advertising platform to choose. Demography refers to the specific characteristics of internet users who use Google and Bing.

Google users are diverse and have a wide range of demographics. On the other hand, the total number of Bing users is lower and covers a limited demography. This means that if you plan to diversify your ad campaign, Google is a better choice.

Geographic Targeting in Google Ads vs. Bing Ads

In terms of geographic targeting, Google Ads definitely have a broader reach. Bing currently has over 1.1 billion global users, whereas Google has 4.97 billion global users. This is a huge number, given that there are a total of 5.44 billion internet users worldwide.

Ad Formats and Customization Options

Ad format and customization impact the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. Ad format allows you to tailor ads to target specific audience groups, ensuring that the messaging resonates with their preferences.

Search Ads: Google Ads vs. Bing Ads

As mentioned above, Google Ads’ global reach is much higher than that of Bing Ads. This means that Google Search Ads have a better chance of reaching a wider audience than Bing Ads.

However, you must know that the competition for Google Search Ads is also greater than that of Bing Ads. So, the cost-per-click, or CPC, on Google is higher. Although the average cost-per-click may vary depending on different niches and industries, the cost of CPC on Bing ads is mostly 70% lower than that of Google Ads.

Bing has a lower CPC because of low search volume. But lack of volume doesn’t mean you have to compromise on the outcome. Bing Ads outperforms Google Ads because it has lower competition, which means there is a potential for a higher return on investment.

Display Network Options

Display network refers to a network of websites where your ads appear. Google and Bing both have different display network options.

Google has a total of 2 million sites, apps, and videos where your ads appear. Moreover, Google Ads allows you to display ads on YouTube.

On the other hand, the display network options in Bing Ads are comparatively low. However, advertisers can benefit from strong integration with LinkedIn, which allows them to reach a professional-focused audience through their advertisements. Both Google and Bing Ads are great options, depending on your target audience.

Video Ads on Google Ads vs. Bing Ads

The average person spends a lot of time watching online videos, so publishing video ads on Google and Bing advertising platforms is a great idea.

However, whether you are using Bing or Google, you must take care of the following things when publishing ads:

• The audience group that uses Bing is slightly older and more affluent. On the other hand, through Google, you can target a younger group of people.
• Google has more restrictions on video ads than Bing. For example, on Google, you can show ads related to alcohol or adult content.
• Google video ads can be placed on its search partner platforms, such as Google and the Google search engine, and Bing Ads can be placed on the Bing search engine, Yahoo, AOL, Duckduckgo, and Ecosia.

Mobile Ad Features on Google Ads vs. Bing Ads

Both Google Ads and Bing Ads have extensive mobile ad features. However, Bing Ads has more device-targeting options than Google Ads.

Bing allows advertisers to target devices like mobile phones, desktops, and tablets. Moreover, you can exclude desktops from the target devices if you wish to. Extensive device exclusion is not available for video ads on Google.

On the brighter side, both devices allow you to adjust bids for mobile devices by setting bid modifiers to increase or decrease bids specifically for mobile traffic.

Shopping Ads: Google Ads vs. Bing Ads

People rely on Google and Bing search engines to find products and services online. Both platforms have a similar layout, with the product image, brand, name, price, and website link mentioned. Users sift through the results to find the product they are interested in the most.

Although shopping ads from both platforms are very similar, there are indeed some minor differences:

• Google Ads have an extensive ad listing compared to Bing Ads. This means you can add tons of information to your ads to ensure they appear for relevant search queries.
• Bing Ads has a simple and straightforward ad listing option, making the shopping ad advertising process easy.

If you are an e-commerce brand trying to choose between both platforms, Google wins this category. Google Ads allows advertisers to provide informative descriptions of the products, making it easy for buyers to determine whether they are truly interested in them. Moreover, informative descriptions also increase your chances of appearing for numerous search queries.

Performance and Conversion Tracking

Once your ad campaign is running, it is time to track its performance and conversion. You need to set up conversion tracking for both Google and Bing Ads. Without this, you won’t be able to check how many users actually clicked on your ad and converted into customers.

Conversion Tracking on Google Ads

To track conversions on Google Ads, you need to first define “conversion.” Google has five types of conversions.

• Website actions: This defines a user’s desirable action on the website. There are different types of website actions, such as making a purchase, clicking on a button, filling out a form, and more.
• Phone calls: Any phone call that originated from a Google Ad can also be marked as a conversion. This means that the target audience is genuinely interested in your products.
• App installations: If businesses promote an app, the number of installations is counted as a conversion.
• Offline conversions: These conversions happen offline but originate from a Google ad. You can import these offline conversions through the customer relationship management (CRM) platform.
• Local conversion: When a user performs a desired action after an interaction with a Google ad, this is called a local conversion.

Conversion Tracking on Bing Ads

Conversion tracking on Bing Ads is similar to Google Ads. For Bing Ads, the following are the categories for conversion tracking:

• Online conversions: This category tracks the specific actions that a user takes on the website. For instance, if the user visits a specific web page, views a particular product page, and makes a purchase, you track it as conversion.
• App installation conversion: This tracks the total number of app installations. If you have an app extension or app installation ad, you can check how many users have installed the app after encountering the ad.
• Offline conversions: Online conversions play a huge role in your business’s success. However, it is equally important to track offline conversions. In this conversion tracking, you compare the number of clicks or phone calls that were made with the number of store visits and purchases.

The aim objective of setting up conversion tracking for Google Ads and Bing Ads is the same. However, there are some tiny differences in the setup method. In Google Ads, you can use the Google Tag Manager or place a Google Ads Conversion Tracking Tag directly in the website code. Bing Ads also uses a tag similar to Google’s, but it is set up through their Universal Event Tracking tag.

Support, Resources, and User Experience

Undoubtedly, both Google and Bing Ads offer extensive support and resources for their users. The only difference between the platforms is how they present these resources to their users.

Google Ads Support and Resources

• Help center: The help center is like a treasure chest of knowledge, with a wide range of step-by-step guides on everything from setting up the campaign to advanced campaign optimization options.
• Support team: The Google Ads support team offers phone, chat, and email support.
• Google Ads expert: Google Ads also provides access to professional account managers for larger advertisers or those who have significant ad spending.

Bing Ads Support and Resources

The support and resources for Bing Ads are similar to those of Google Ads.

• Help center: The help center is the primary online resource for all Bing Ads users. It has vast resources on how to use the platform and optimize the campaign.
• Support team: The platform also has a wide range of advertising support teams, offering everything from live chat to phone and email support.
• Community forum: There is also a community forum where you can ask questions, share experiences, and find answers.
• Expert services: For larger advertisers, Microsoft account managers offer personalized guidance to help your account grow and provide the right support for troubleshooting.

Conclusion: Which Platform Should You Choose?

The answer to which platform to choose is tricky, as both Google and Bing Ads have their respective advantages and disadvantages. However, when you decide to allocate your marketing budget to one of these platforms, consider the audience you want to reach. The younger generation is more inclined to use Google, whereas the older generation uses Bing.

In addition to this, the number of Google searches is much higher than that of Bing. But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t focus on Bing. As a best practice, most marketers start with Google Ads and slowly allocate a budget to Bing Ads once they get ahold of online advertisements. Now, depending on the conversion rate on both platforms, advertisers can increase or decrease their budget on the respective platforms. You need to closely analyze the performance of your ad campaign on both platforms to determine how much ad budget you want to allocate to each.