How to Create Your First Microsoft Ads Campaign (2024 Guide)
Watch our video on how to do it:
Why Use Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads?
Microsoft Advertising is an underrated tool that allows businesses to advertise using pay-per click (PPC).
Microsoft’s search engine is second in the global market with 9%. This gap may appear large, but Bing has over 1 billion unique users each month.
Bing is a great option if you want to target PC users. Microsoft Search Network Data shows that the platforms have 14.7 billion PC searches per month and 653 millions unique PC users.
You’ll still need to take into consideration many other factors besides the size of your audience.
What’s the difference, for example, between cost-per click (CPC), and click-through-rate (CTR), on each platform. Bing Ads is able to perform tasks that Google Ads cannot (hint, the answer is yes and it has something to do with LinkedIn). What are the other advantages of Microsoft Advertising? Below, we’ll provide you with some answers.
Bing Ads and Google Ads
Many small and mid-sized businesses know how important it is to advertise on Google Ads. Microsoft Ads, also known as Bing Ads, is often overlooked by marketers. Microsoft Ads makes it easy to set up marketing campaigns.
Bing Ads offers a lot of benefits to businesses. Here are a few.
Advertise in more places
Microsoft Ads will not only display your ads on a single site. As Microsoft owns Bing, MSN Yahoo and AOL, your ads will appear on multiple sites. Microsoft and Yahoo have a number of smaller partner sites, which are operated and owned by syndicated partners.
You can also decide the locationyour ads will be displayed. You can restrict your ad placement based on where you would like your ads to appear.
Google has a wider reach and search partners. Microsoft Ads may be a better option if you know that your customers prefer Outlook to Gmail.
Reduced competition
Google’s huge audience is great, but your reach could be much greater. As we’ve said before, larger doesn’t always mean better.
Microsoft Advertising’s search engines have a smaller market segment. This lower volume of searches means less competition and fewer advertisers to increase the cost of your ads.
You can get more bang for your buck by using clicks.
Granular targeting
Google and Bing both allow for very specific targeting of ads at the campaign-level. Bing’s tools also allow you to change targeting at the ad-group level, making for more flexible campaigns.
Microsoft Ads also allows you to set ads to run in the time zone of your ad viewers, regardless of where they are located. Google’s menu will not change the time your ads are shown. For example, if you want to show an ad in New York at 6PM and Los Angeles’ time at 6PM you would have to create two separate campaigns.
If you’re looking for to bespecific in terms of targeting devices then Bing is the best choice. Microsoft Ads allows you to target specific audiences by their operating system and device. Google Ads only allows you to do this with Video and Display campaigns.
Microsoft default search engine
Bing is the default search engine on any Microsoft device. Microsoft 365 is a subscription to the Microsoft suite of software (Excel PowerPoint Word etc.) that comes with Cortana. This virtual assistant also searches Bing.
This means that anyone who downloads Microsoft 365, or a Microsoft computer automatically uses Bing for their default search engine. It’s a great way to get traffic to your ads!
A possibly lower CPC Rate
A digital marketing company, conducted a study comparing Bing Ads to Google Ads. They spent 35% less money on Bing ads than Google.
You should still be cautious when you see numbers like these. The study took into consideration the quality of the clicks. These savings might not be the same for your brand.
Other factors can also affect your success. This marketing agency may be in a completely different industry, with different demographics and keywords. Different demographics might prefer Google over Bing and vice versa.
It’s a great idea to compare Bing ads and Google ads to determine which one is the best for your brand if CPC is the main concern. You can adjust your budget if you find that one is more cost-effective.
LinkedIn Profile Targeting
You can target highly targeted audiences using LinkedIn profiles by using Bing Ads Manager. (Say whaaat! Google wills.
Microsoft Ads lets you target an audience based on LinkedIn data and then apply bid modifiers.
You can choose to target Bing campaigns based on
- Healthcare, Manufacturing, Corporate Services, and Consumer Goods are all examples of industries.
- You can choose a job function such as sales, education, or the arts and design.
This feature can be a game changer in B2B services. You want to get people interested in your highly-technical niche white paper writing business? My friend, the world has just become a lot easier. Search for your top 10 wish-list customers, select the correct industry and target marketing managers.
Microsoft-Bing Ads is the only platform with this feature.
How to:
Step 1: Navigate Create Ad Group. Scroll down to the Targets for Ad Group section.
Step 2: Click Edit target categories. You can choose Company Industry and Job Function.
Step 3: Use the target types that you’ve set up or click Edit Target if you want to create your own.
Step 4: Search for companies, industries and jobs that you are interested in and choose the ones you like.
Step 5: Click Done and select your bid adjustment for your target.
Bing Ads Editor allows you to retarget ads even after they have been created. You can do this by going to Settings for your campaign, adgroup, or Ad group targets and clicking Edit target category. You will be taken to the same page as before, where you can adjust and edit based on your company, industry and job function.
How to launch an Ads campaign with Microsoft
Microsoft Ads: Would you like to try it out? Microsoft Ads Smart Campaigns are the easiest way to start advertising. You’ll see a step by step guide on how to use Bing Ads Smart campaigns.
Microsoft’s AI is used to create and manage ads for Smart Campaigns. These campaigns are easy to use and very effective, but you may want more control of the details. Expert Mode is a good option.
At the end of Smart campaign, we’ll go through the Expert mode step-by-step.
Sign in or register with Microsoft Ads
Select Sign Up, or Sign In. Create your Microsoft Advertising account by following the prompts.
Step 2: Set your advertising goal
Microsoft will ask you to select a campaign goal. Then, hit Next.
Step 3: Tell Microsoft your name
Next: Enter your information.
Step 4: Set your target radius
Expert Mode allows you to select multiple locations around the world.
Step 5: Enter your keywords
Microsoft will suggest similar keywords to your service below. Use Microsoft’s Keyword Planner for better SEO.
Step 6: Fill out the text boxes
On the right side of your browser, you can preview your ad. Microsoft will also notify you if you go over the recommended number of characters to prevent truncation.
Step 7: Enter your phone number
This step is optional. If you are a business that only accepts online bookings, then skip it.
Step 8: Fill out your budget
Microsoft provides a handy Estimated performancebox on the right side of your screen to help you see your monthly impressions and clicking potential. The slider scale under your budget will show you the average spending of your competitors.
Step 9: Enter your payment and contact information
Next will ask for your payment information.
Step 10: Click Submit to go live
Microsoft Ads will then review your campaign and you’ll be ready to go live in under a day. Explore Your Campaign will allow you to see the data for your campaign and track its progress.
Badda-boom, badda-BING! You did it!
Microsoft Ads Expert Mode
Smart mode is more set it and forget it than Expert mode. Expert mode offers a full-featured campaign management. It allows you to add more content and control your campaign. There’s also additional reporting and tracking.
This mode is for marketers and advertising professionals with advanced skills who prefer to be hands-on.
Once you have switched from Smart to Expert mode , there is no way back . Be sure to be ready for the major leagues.
How to switch between Smart and Expert modes
Select the Tools menu and then Switch to Expert mode. Choose Tools and then switch to the Expert mode. Once prompted, confirm your selection.
To switch to Expert mode, navigate to the bottom of your window and click strong Switch to Expert mode. To switch to Expert Mode, click Switch into Expert mode at the bottom of your screen.
Step 1: Enter your URL or account to import.
You can import data directly from your Google Ads or Facebook Ads accounts. Enter the URL that you want to target, and click Create Campaign.
Step 2: Choose a budget for your campaign
You can choose your budget and bidding strategy here. Once you’re finished, click Next.
Step 3: Choose your campaign target
Once you have decided, click strong>Next./strong>. Once decided, hit Next.
Step 4: Create your Ad Groups
Microsoft’s Keyword Ideas box to the right will provide you with keyword suggestions.
Step 5: Create an ad
Microsoft tells you how to optimize your ad for better results. Microsoft shows you on the right how to optimize your ads for better results. After you finish, click Next.
Create a few ads to improve your chances of reaching the audience you want.
Step 6: Create your account and payment details
Click Next to continue. Here you can enter your payment details.
Step 7: Review your data and analytics
After you have published your campaign, you can access your dashboard in Expert mode. You can adjust your budget and edit existing campaigns.
Bing Ads FAQ
What is Bing Ads now called?
Bing Ads are now under the umbrella of Microsoft Ads. Bing Ads are still technically a thing because ads that only appear on Bing exist. Microsoft Ads are now the only ones that exist.
Bing Ads: Is it worth the cost?
Bing Ads, depending on your marketing strategies, can be profitable. Bing Ads can be worth it for businesses because of the smaller competition circle. The ability to target by company, industry and job function is extremely useful for niche players.
What is better: Google Ads, or Bing Ads
Google Ads or Bing Ads is not better. Each has its own pros and cons, and both can be powerful tools in the hands of the right marketer.
Reference’s:
Bing Ads 1