Part 4: Should I Invest in Microsoft Ads?

Google is often the first thing that comes to mind when you hear “digital paid ads platform,”. However, it should not be the only thing. While Google is the leader in search engines, Microsoft Ads should not be overlooked.

Microsoft Ads bring in roughly 5.5 billion users per month. This leaves plenty of opportunities for your campaigns to thrive in that marketplace.

Adding Microsoft Ads to your marketing strategy would allow your company to engage with people who are not using Google as their preferred search engine. Potentially bringing in newer client potential.

Another key benefit of Microsoft Advertising is that there are fewer advertisers using Microsoft Ads. This is due to a smaller user base, which means less competition.

This decrease in competition often results in a lower cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and cost-per-clicks (CPCs). As well as a higher return on ad spend (ROAS) when compared to Google counterparts.

So, should you invest in Microsoft Ads? In this blog, part four of our paid ad platforms series, we’ll explain why that platform is a great option and how you can use it to your advantage.

How Microsoft Ads Work

When you compare Microsoft Ads vs. Google Ads, you’ll find that the two are almost identical. They’re so similar, in fact, that you can directly import your Google AdWords campaign into your Microsoft Ads account to make for a smooth addition or transition.

When you import campaigns from Google into your Microsoft account, make sure to give them a look through to ensure that everything is in place, as some aspects of your campaign can change during the import process, such as:

• Negative Keyword Lists: Double-check that your keywords are still how you’d like them to be, as broad match terms often transfer to phrase match terms in Microsoft.
• Targeting: This platform has a vastly different targeting approach than Google Ads, allowing for more adjustments and specifics at the ad level rather than just at the campaign level. Double-check your targeting, and adjust to the new targeting options.

Make sure to comb through your bids, budgets, ads, keywords, and targeting before making the ad live to ensure that your campaign works as intended. As far as where your ads will show, Microsoft has three search engines (Bing, Yahoo, and AOL), so when you advertise on one platform, your ad is actually visible on all three, similar to Google’s Display Network.

Types of Microsoft Ads

Microsoft has its own network of ads. This allows advertisers to utilize on its search engines. Similar to most paid ads platforms that our advertising agency has covered on this blog series.

• Text Ads: These ads appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) as expanded text, dynamic search, or responsive search ads.
• Product Ads: These ads include product listings to enable e-commerce sellers to showcase their products and pricing to people in the market for similar products.
• Microsoft Audience Ads: Audience Ads are very similar to Google’s Display Ads. They are typically engaging to viewers and appear embedded within web pages that the audience is already viewing, such as a blog.
• App Install Ads: Drive traffic to your app using these ads, which send users to the app store to install your app.
• Microsoft Advertising in Bing Smart Search: Similar to text ads, Smart Search Ads are modernized with a touch experience, and they try to include a preview of the landing page.

Conclusion

Overall, if you have the spare budget, adding Microsoft Ads to your advertising strategy would further enhance your awareness and reach. Not to mention, if you already have Google AdWords set up with your advertising agency, there’s little effort needed to create the Microsoft Ads Campaigns. It’s a win-win.

If you think that Microsoft Ads are right for your marketing strategy, and you’d like to gain a better understanding of what these services can do for your company, contact BrandCraft Marketing today to chat with one of our paid ads experts.