ABOUT BING ADS
In this article, we will present some data about Microsoft's search engine and present one more option of paid media platform: Microsoft Advertising, formerly known as Bing Ads. In addition to the pros and cons of advertising on the channel.
To get the most out of this reading, we suggest reading the following article about Google Ads. This is because the operation of Microsoft Advertising is very similar to that of Google Ads. In that one, several important points are presented that are quite similar between the platforms. For example, keywords and key phrases (keywords), investment cost and others.
Now, let's learn a little more about Microsoft Advertising.
Do you know Bing?
Created by Microsoft in 2009, Bing is a search engine that came to replace Live Search and MSN Search. Similar to Google, this search engine has results for websites, images, videos, news and maps.
You may be asking yourself: But who uses Bing?
According to ComScore data, the typical search engine user is between 55 and 64 years old, representing representando of desktop searches in the United States. The main justification for this fact is that this search engine is the standard in all Microsoft products.
Some search engines for mobile devices also have this search engine as their factory default, among them we have the Amazon Kindle and Apple's Siri.
In Brazil, according to Statcounter, in November 2019 we had 2.47% of searches through Bing, while Google is still a big representative with 95.2%.
However, when analyzing the entire globe, that number rises to 5.2% and Google's domain drops considerably, reaching 88.21%. Its greatest relevance is in the United States (11.59%), United Kingdom (9.21%), and Canada (7.93%) data for November 2019.
Microsoft Advertising
Ads on Google are already well known within Digital Marketing, but few know that Bing also has its system of paid ads! In early 2019, Bing Ads, now Microsoft Advertising, enabled ad management, with keyword targeting, very similar to Google.
Microsoft Advertising shows your ads when the user searches online for a term related to the keywords included by your company. Thus directing you to your website, your phone number or your physical location.
Ads are displayed to users of Bing, MSN, Yahoo, AOL, other sites powered by Bing and exclusive partners with AOL, The Wall Street Journal, Gumtree, InfoSpace and others.
You won't be charged until someone clicks your ad. In fact, the Microsoft Advertising system is so similar to Google Ads that it is possible to access your Google account and import campaigns, with the same settings! You can import ads, groups, campaigns and keywords.
NOTE: If you use a Google bid management system, such as maximizing conversions, Bing will not be able to import this same system.
Therefore, it is possible to create campaigns segmented by location, language, keywords and time schedule, in order to reach your target audience within this search engine.
Google Ads vs. Microsoft Advertising
The following is a selection of "Pros and Cons" for Microsoft Advertising with respect to Google Ads. The main differences between the platforms are: the types of campaigns available, the value of the CPC and the potential audience reach.
At Microsoft, you don't have a variety of campaigns like Google, and the creation of the following campaigns is unavailable: video campaign, app, display and shopping.
Another big difference is in CPC (cost per click). Due to the lower number of advertisers on this channel, the Bing auction dispute tends to be 33% below the Google Ads average. This lower competition allows the advertiser cheaper traffic to the site, without necessarily losing quality.
Finally, there is the potential scope of searches. As already discussed in the article, there is a difference between 92.73% in the volume of searches in favor of Google Ads, making the potential for reaching audiences much higher than Bing.
Is it worth advertising on Microsoft Advertising?
The answer is simple: YES! Why include Microsoft Advertising in your Marketing portfolio?
Increase the reach of a qualified audience. When creating campaigns on Bing, you will be able to find a qualified user for your business on a new search network, reaching new people.
New impact channel. It is known that all users go through a purchase / registration journey. Although each segment has a specific average time, the greater the diversification in channels, the greater the impact of the ads on its target audience, and may even reduce the time of this journey.
Low entry barrier. The Setup process in Microsoft Advertising is free and fast. In a few minutes, you can create an account, register a payment method, and if, you already have Google ads, you can import the campaigns in full!
Low initial investment. It has already been mentioned earlier that the search volume for Bing has its limitations. The interesting thing is that this can also be an advantage to start serving ads on the channel. With less investment, you will be able to cover a higher percentage of searches for your business.
Qualified and cheap traffic. Search network campaigns tend to be more qualified, since the ad is reactive to the user's search. Coupled with a CPC on average 33% below Google, it is possible to guarantee qualified traffic, at a cost below Google.
In short, Microsoft Advertising is a relatively new platform that is constantly growing.
When comparing the two platforms (Microsoft Advertising and Google Ads) it is important to make it very clear that they do not bring the same traffic to your site. So we can think that these paid media platforms are complementary.
If you already have ads running on Google Ads, why not try Microsoft Ads? Start with a reduced budget, import your main campaigns, access a cheaper audience and, gradually, make the optimizations and adjustments.