Is Bing Ads worthwhile for businesses?

by | July 31, 2023 | Performance Marketing

This month, we're looking at whether Bing Ads are profitable for businesses. Before we get back to this question, let's first clarify the basics: What are Bing Ads? How are they structured? What practical features are available in Bing Ads? What important questions should you ask yourself before getting started with Bing search engine advertising?

What are Bing Ads?

Bing Ads, also known as Microsoft Advertising since 2019, are online marketing ads that are specifically placed in the Bing search engine and on the websites of Microsoft partners. These partners include Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and other platforms such as Amazon, Outlook, Ecosia, and Skype. Like Google Ads, Bing Ads often appear at the top of the page, above the organic search results.

As with Google Ads, billing is based on PPC(pay per click), meaning that you only pay when a user clicks on the Bing ad.

Below is an example of a Bing Ad:

- 2307 blog bing ads screenshot ad Is Bing Ads worthwhile for businesses?

Example: Microsoft Ads ad with sitelinks

How is a Bing Ad structured?

If you are familiar with Google Ads, Bing Ads will not be a big change for you. Setting up a Bing Ads account is similar to Google: here, too, the top level is the account level, followed by the campaign, ad group, and ad levels at the bottom. Goals can be created at the account and campaign levels. The individual campaigns are based on different goals; for example, ad groups are divided into different product groups that need to be advertised. Each ad group contains individual ads and appropriately selected keywords.

This brings us to the first special feature of this SEA channel: Bing Ads offer a unique advertising function. Microsoft Ads' so-called audience ads are not based on keywords, but on user interests. This type of ad is displayed on the Microsoft Audience Network, i.e., on websites, apps, and other Microsoft platforms. What makes this ad format special is that the ad adapts to the design of the respective website. In the broadest sense, Bing's audience ads can be compared to Google Display Ads.

What targeting options are available with Bing Ads?

Similar to Google Ads, Microsoft Ads offers various targeting options. These include targeting based on specific keywords, interests, demographic criteria, and devices. Furthermore, ads can be placed in specific regions, at a specific time, or on a desired day. It is possible to display ads to an audience consisting of interests, demographic criteria, and user behavior, or to place ads for remarketing segments and in-market segments.

Another special feature is the ability to target Bing Ads based on LinkedIn profiles, i.e., by industry and job title, for example—this offers new opportunities, especially for B2B customers. In general, targeting options can be combined to reach the right audience.

Practical Bing Ads feature: Bing imports

If you already have a Google Ads account, you can take advantage of a special feature in Bing Ads: the import function. With this feature, you can import entire campaigns or individually selected ad groups from Google Ads into Microsoft. During the import process, you can also fine-tune the content to be imported (extensions, budget, etc.). This makes it easier for companies that already use an SEA channel to get started with Bing.

Bing Ads in the B2B sector

Although Google still has the largest market share worldwide, the Bing search engine should not be underestimated. It is the second most used search engine after Google. This is particularly important for B2B companies, as Bing is the default search engine on many company PCs. The following example from Microsoft shows the percentage share that Bing can achieve in the B2B segment:

In Germany alone, Microsoft has a 24% share of the PC market and records 433 million PC searches per month (Comscore qSearch, March 2023). Of the 22 million PC users, 42% are decision-makers in companies and 19% are executives. According to research by Microsoft, these Bing users primarily utilize the Microsoft Search Network for two specific purposes: product research (64%) and brand discovery (40%).

What are the advantages of Bing Ads?

There are several reasons to use Bing Ads, including the ability to target specific audiences and niches and to increase your reach and visibility across platforms such as Yahoo. Unlike Google Ads, Bing Ads is geared toward the B2B segment. This can offer enormous potential, especially for companies operating in the B2B sector.

In addition, competition on Bing Ads is not as fierce as on Google Ads. Most competitors continue to place their ads on Google Ads. This means that Microsoft Ads also offers the opportunity to take advantage of lower click prices, obtain better ad placements more easily, and thus generate conversions on a smaller budget.

There are many points in favor of Bing and Microsoft Ads, but as a company, you should also consider the points that may speak against the advertising platform.

What are the challenges with Bing Ads?

Since advertising budgets are limited, a decision must be made as to which SEA channel to use. And the choice often falls on Google Ads, as this is where most competitors are active.

As a company, you should ask yourself these important questions before using Bing Ads:

A list of questions helps to decide whether Bing Ads are worthwhile for the company. You should have specific answers to the following questions:

Who is my target audience?

Who is my target audience and in which industry do they work? Does my audience use Bing as a search engine and Microsoft platforms, or are they users of Microsoft applications? If the answer is yes, then Bing Ads offers the opportunity to reach potential customers! The reason: Bing is the default search engine on many company PCs.

What are my advertising goals?

Bing Ads offers various targeting options and ad formats, including audience ads, to achieve different advertising goals online. If one of your goals is to increase your online reach, Bing Ads is a possible channel to consider.

How much budget is available?

How much marketing budget does the department have at its disposal? Is it limited, or is there scope to test Bing Ads? If there is budget available for this, it is worth doing, as it allows you to target the B2B segment in particular with relatively low CPCs. On the other hand, it could also be a cost-effective alternative to Google Ads for placing online advertising.

What is the competition doing?

What is the competition doing? Are they already active on Bing Ads? Should the company follow suit, or is there perhaps an opportunity here to gain a competitive advantage? A comprehensive analysis helps to decide whether this channel should be used.

Conclusion: This speaks in favor of using Bing Ads.

Quick setup (for example, using the import function), lower CPCs than Google Ads, increased reach through various partners and platforms, and easier placement—all of these factors speak in favor of using Bing Ads. Since users who are active on Bing are often involved in B2B, Bing Ads also offers the opportunity to achieve more relevant conversions. Microsoft Ads therefore offers an ideal complement to other SEA advertising platforms such as Google Ads.

Whether the Microsoft advertising platform is worthwhile for companies depends on the specific goals they are pursuing. Similar to Google Ads, there are tools for measuring performance and making adjustments to achieve advertising goals.

Are you interested in placing Microsoft Ads, or do you already have an existing campaign and want to optimize your click-through rate (CTR) or campaign targeting on Bing? Make an appointment with us—we will advise you without obligation.

- SylviaPrison 002 Are Bing Ads worthwhile for businesses?

Your contact for SEA

Sylvia Prison
Chief Performance Architect
paseo
0721 – 911010

Active in online marketing since 2007, specializing in SEA. I would be happy to show you how you can achieve your goals with the help of SEA and get the most out of your SEA ads.

 

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