Why You Should Be Using Microsoft Bing Ads

When we think of setting up ad campaigns, most businesses will head straight for Google. Of course, given the fact that Google has 87.7% search market share, this isn’t exactly surprising. However, market share isn’t necessarily everything and there are some big wins to be had by using Microsoft Bing Ads for paid search marketing.

Having existed for over a decade with ties to the most popular computer operating system in the world, Microsoft Windows, it’s astounding that many eCommerce businesses aren’t utilising Bing ads. After all, Bing is the default search engine across Windows devices. With that in mind, we’ve listed three reasons why you should consider Microsoft Ads as part of your performance marketing strategy.

Benefits of Using Microsoft Bing Ads

Before we address the positives, we wanted to acknowledge that there are some limitations to using Microsoft Ads. The main one being that at the moment, the smartphone market is dominated by Apple’s iOS and Android, neither using Windows as their operating system. This means that it’s unlikely you will reach as many users browsing on their mobile devices.

Seems like a huge loss, right? Well, yes and no. While our smartphones have become the go-to way we browse and shop online, there is still an audience happily using desktop. This takes us straight into our first big win with Bing Ads.

Chasing A New Demographic

Think of your buyer personas. Who are you trying to attract? Google Ads may reach a wide audience, but there is scope for dedicated campaigns to attract a new demographic with Bing Ads. For example, there is an older generation that may not yet be equipped with the various technologies available to them and instead will resort to the default option. As we know, this is most likely to be a Windows device with Bing as the default browser. The same goes for an office setting where work computers also predominantly use Windows. This provides an excellent opportunity for advertising B2B products and services.

We all like to ‘shoot for the stars’ but there are very easy wins here by targeting these specific demographics.

Control & Transparency

Bing offers more granular control. You are able to make adjustments at ad group level, meaning you can be more flexible with your targets. You can also assign different ad campaigns to different time zones, which is a clear win when it comes to selling internationally.

Another key feature with Bing Ads is that the platform provides transparency across its reports. You can view the performance of each search partner and see exactly where your traffic is coming from. This is great when it comes to budgeting and testing ads. You’ll be able to monitor and keep a close eye on your ROI for each campaign.

Save Money

While Google may have a larger audience, Bing Ads are generally cheaper. This is simply because there is less competition. Less competition also generally means a lower cost-per-click, increasing your opportunities of being noticed and increasing your ROI. As we said at the start, market share isn’t everything. As long as you are targeting the right people with the right keywords, traffic isn’t an issue. You’ll have an audience, you just won’t have to fight so hard for it.

It’s clear there are some big wins to be had with Microsoft Bing Ads. We’re not saying you should abandon your Google Ads strategy, far from it, but instead should consider setting some budget aside to give Bing ads a go. Besides, you can easily import your current Google Ad campaigns directly into Microsoft Ads, so it’s super easy to get up-and-running.

If you’re looking for a marketing agency to support you with your performance marketing, we provide data-driven ad campaigns and will happily help you get started. Give us a call on 0121 369 5874 or email us at success@5874commerce.com.