You’ve probably heard of Google Ads if you are a digital marketer. It’s a pretty popular platform for businesses to advertise online. But Bing Ads, now known as Microsoft Ads, is also another popular platform. While Google dominates the market, Bing follows in second place.
Bing Ads is a platform that allows businesses to bid on keywords and display ads to people searching on Bing, Yahoo, and other partner websites. It’s a pay-per-click advertising model, meaning you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
Although Google is the undisputed leader (98%) of search engine marketing, Bing still commands a major portion (9%) of the search market. This means you have untapped opportunities for your business.
Let’s understand why Bing Ads should be a part of your digital marketing strategy.
Compared to Google Ads, Bing Ads usually have lower CPC rates. This means you can get more clicks for your advertising budget. It’s a great way to test new campaigns or expand your reach without breaking the bank. Due to less competition, you can bid on a higher ROI for your advertising spend. This is particularly beneficial for businesses with smaller budgets or those operating in highly competitive industries. Although individual results may vary, many advertisers report lower CPC rates on Bing than on Google. However, a thorough analysis is needed to understand the actual cost savings for a specific business. Industry, target audience, and keyword strategy can also influence campaign performance.
Bing Ads can target a specific audience. Bing users usually have different demographics and search behaviors than Google users. By advertising on Bing, you can reach a particular audience segment that might be overlooked by focusing only on Google. You can also tailor your messaging and offerings to align with this audience.
Bing, along with Yahoo and AOL, reaches a substantial audience. Advertising on this network can improve your brand visibility and increase brand awareness. Continuous exposure can also raise search engine rankings and increase organic traffic. Also, as the default search engine on Microsoft devices and a component of Microsoft 365, Bing enjoys a built-in audience, which also contributes to increased visibility and clicks for advertisers.
Bing Ads offer strong targeting capabilities. It allows you to refine your audience based on location, demographics, interests, and device type. This precision helps your ads reach the right audience at the right time and maximizes the effectiveness of your campaigns. Also, Bing Ads can target ads based on specific devices and operating systems across all campaigns. So, advertisers can optimize their messaging for different user experiences.
While the overall click-through rates (CTRs) could be slightly lower on Bing compared to Google, many advertisers report higher conversion rates. This could be because Bing users tend to be more focused and intent-driven when searching.
Bing Ads leverages LinkedIn profile data for audience targeting. Advertisers can create highly targeted campaigns based on company, industry, job function, and other professional attributes. This is specifically ideal for B2B businesses wanting to reach specific decision-makers and influencers.
Every company, including small businesses and large corporations, knows how important Google Ads are. However, Bing ads are not something that many advertisers usually overlook. These two ads have a few different characteristics that address different businesses and marketing goals. Let’s have a look.
Google dominates the search engine and has a massive user base. This means a wider audience for your ads across different demographics. Although Google’s reach is wider, Bing Ads allows you to advertise in more places.
When you advertise on Bing Ads, your ads get seen across different platforms, including Bing, MSN, Yahoo, AOL, and other smaller sites they partner with. You have control over where your ads show up, so you can target specific audiences. Although Google has a bigger network, Bing Ads could be a better fit if your customers are more likely to use Outlook than Gmail.
Google’s massive user base is undeniably attractive. But bigger may not always be better. The intense competition increases costs per click and makes it a pricier option for many advertisers. However, the large volume of searches can justify the investment.
Bing Ads taps into a smaller pool of searchers. Less competition means lower costs and better ad placement opportunities. You could potentially get prime spots for less. This can be particularly attractive for businesses with tight budgets or those targeting a specific demographic that aligns with Bing’s user base.
Google Ads is generally a more advanced platform with a wide variety of features and tools. Its interface, even though complex, is familiar to many digital marketers. Bing Ads, while simpler, might be more intuitive for beginners. However, it may lack some functionalities that active users require.
Google Ads usually have higher overall conversion rates due to their larger audience and more experienced advertisers. But Bing can surprise with comparable or even better results in certain niches. Bing’s lower competition and more qualified audience can lead to improved ROI.
The best platform for your business depends on your specific goals, target audience, and budget. If you are targeting a broad audience and have a larger budget, Google Ads might be the way to go. However, if you are looking to reach a specific demographic and prioritize cost-effectiveness, Bing Ads needs serious consideration. Run your own Bing vs. Google ad experiment to see which delivers a better ROI.
If the benefits of Bing Ads convince you, smart campaigns are the quickest way to get in. We’ll help you set up your first Bing Ads campaign using this super simple tool.
Microsoft’s AI helps in ad creation and campaign management for smart campaigns, which also makes it easy to set up. However, Expert mode is a better option if you need granular control.
Let’s have a look at the steps:
It’s the obvious first step. You need to create a free Microsoft Advertising account. This is your central hub for managing all your ad campaigns. You’ll need basic business information, like your business name and website, to get started. It’s a free process, with costs incurred only when your ads are clicked. Once your account is live, you need to set your campaign’s objective.
Before creating your campaign, clearly outline what you want to achieve. Are you looking to increase website traffic, generate leads, or boost sales? Your campaign structure will depend on your goals.
Bing Ads offers various campaign types, including Search, Shopping, and Dynamic Search Ads. Each type has its own focus and setup process. When selecting a campaign type, consider your business model and target audience.
Effective keyword research is needed for Bing Ads’ success. Identify relevant keywords and phrases that potential customers might use to find your products or services. Bing Ads offers a keyword research tool to help you get started. Use it to find relevant keywords with good search volume and low competition.
Organize your keywords into ad groups based on related themes. This will help you create more targeted ads and improve campaign performance.
Write impressive ad copy that aligns with your target audience. Highlight unique selling points, include calls to action, and incorporate relevant keywords. Effective ad copy drives higher click-through rates and conversions.
Decide on a suitable daily budget and bidding strategy. You can choose manual bidding, where you set maximum bids for each keyword, or automated bidding, which utilizes Bing’s algorithms to optimize bids. When selecting a bidding strategy, consider your campaign goals and budget.
Leverage Bing Ads’ targeting options to reach your ideal customers. To refine your audience, you can specify location, language, demographics, and interests.
Improve your ads with ad extensions to provide additional information, like phone numbers, location, or website links. These extensions can improve CTRs and overall ad performance. Make sure your landing pages are relevant to your ad, load quickly, and provide a smooth user experience.
Once your campaign is ready, launch it and begin tracking its performance. Monitor key metrics such as CTR, conversion rate, CPC, and return on ad spend to understand campaign effectiveness.
Bing Ads is a dynamic platform. You need to analyze campaign performance and track metrics continuously. Identify underperforming elements and make necessary adjustments. It could be refining keywords, ad copy, and bids to optimize results. Experiment with different ad variations and landing pages to identify what works best for your audience.
Bing Ads offers some of the best targeting options to reach your ideal customer base with laser focus. This precise targeting helps you design your campaign according to specific demographics, interests, online behavior, and the devices users use.
Here are some of the major targeting options available in Bing Ads:
With Bing Ads, you can precisely target your ads to specific locations. You can choose to target entire countries, regions, states, cities, or specific postal codes. This makes it easier to show your ads to users in your desired geographic area.
To focus your ads on specific locations, go to “Campaigns” > “Settings” > “Edit Location Target.” Here, you can choose which places to include or exclude and who you want to see your ad.
If you are familiar with Google Ads, you’ll find Bing Ads quite similar. You can target people based on where they live, where they browse the web, or both.
You can also adjust your bids for specific locations:
Microsoft/Bing Ads lets you target specific searchers based on their personal details, such as age, gender, and interests. They collect data on these searchers and give you the power to target exactly the right audience. You can also track what people search for on Microsoft’s search engines to adjust your targeting.
Depending on how specific you want to be, you can target your ads at a campaign or ad group level. Bing Ads offers more control over demographic targeting than Google Adwords, but it might take a few tries to perfect.
Increase your bids by 10% using Bid Boosting to boost visibility for a particular audience. This works for both demographic and non-demographic targeting, like specific days or times.
To target by age or gender:
Cross-device targeting lets brands connect with their target audience by reaching them wherever they are, such as on a desktop, smartphone, or tablet. It gives brands complete control over where their ads appear.
Boost your campaign’s performance by tailoring your bids to each device type. Monitor your results to see what’s working best. Some of the benefits of device targeting are:
To target by device:
For time-based targeting:
Adjust your bids based on device, location, time of day, and demographics. It lets you allocate more of your budget to high-performing segments and optimize your ROI. Bing Ads offers advanced audience targeting options, including:
Automated bidding, ad scheduling, and budgeting work together to optimize your ad delivery and performance. Let’s have a closer look at them:
Automated bidding strategies can simplify your campaign management and improve results. You can adjust bids automatically based on various factors, such as time of day, device, and user behavior. It helps you:
Bing Ads allows you to control when your ads appear. You can specify the days of the week and times of day when you want your ads to run. This is particularly useful for businesses with specific operating hours or to target audiences during peak activity times.
For example, if you run an e-commerce store that sells festive decor, you might schedule your ads to run primarily during the festive season when people are more likely to shop for such items.
For the success of your Bing Ads campaign, you need to set the right budget. Bing Ads offers both daily and monthly budget options.
You need to monitor your budget closely and make adjustments as needed. When setting your budget, consider factors such as seasonality, competition, and campaign performance.
Experiment with different bidding strategies to find the best fit for your campaign. Regularly review campaign performance metrics to identify areas for improvement. Based on your findings, adjust bidding strategies, ad schedules, and budgets. Adjust your bidding by applying bid adjustments based on demographics, devices, and time of day.
Once you launch your marketing campaigns, it’s essential to measure the success of your Bing Ads. You can track KPIs and analyze the effectiveness of your efforts. The major performance metrics are:
Analyzing this data lets you identify which keywords drive the most traffic and conversions. You can also evaluate the performance of different ad variations, assess the effectiveness of your targeting strategies, and measure your campaigns’ ROI.
Combining Bing Ads with a well-planned digital marketing strategy can expand your reach, increase brand visibility, drive business growth, and create effective campaigns that deliver precise results.