The Ultimate Guide to Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) for Small Businesses

If you are looking for a new way to advertise your business, Microsoft Advertising is the answer. It offers small businesses with better targeting capabilities than Google and Facebook ads. This guide will help you get started on creating effective advertisements and measuring their success so that you can make changes in your marketing strategy as needed.

Google ads is one of the most popular advertising networks. Google has released a guide to help small businesses with their advertising campaigns. This guide includes information on how to create an ad, as well as tips for getting more clicks and conversions. Read more in detail here: google ads.

The Ultimate Guide to Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) for Small Businesses

Microsoft Advertising (previously Bing Ads) is a low-cost, simple-to-use advertising platform for Google rival Bing’s search engine marketing (SEM). Despite the fact that Microsoft Advertising isn’t the most popular search engine, it receives over 1 billion unique visits every month from throughout the globe. Use Microsoft Advertisements to vary your ad campaigns and take advantage of pay-per-click ads targeted at a certain demographic.

How Does Microsoft Advertise?

Any good SEM campaign focuses on particular keywords that search engine users could use to look for a product, service, or solution to meet a need or want. Microsoft Adverts allows you to concentrate on the keywords or phrases that are most relevant to your company, and helps people discover you by displaying ads at the top or bottom of search results.

You may select the terms that best meet your aim using Microsoft Ads’ keyword research tool. You may use broad keywords, localize them by include a city or state, or concentrate on a long-tail keyword phrase to answer particular inquiries. You’ll establish your daily advertising budget and submit keyword bids. You just have to pay if someone clicks on your advertisement.

The position of your ad in search results (top or bottom, first or second, etc.) is determined by how much you spend for a keyword and how fierce the competition is. Your position may be affected by how well your ad performs.

What Does Microsoft Advertisement Cost?

Microsoft Ads do not have a defined price. The cost of an advertisement is determined by demand. As a result, if your term is popular and has a large search volume, the beginning bid will most likely be greater than if it isn’t as popular. A single ad click might cost as little as a penny or as much as a dollar. Your industry’s cost-per-click (CPC) might be lower or higher as well.

Average CPC by Industry on Bing Ads

(Image courtesy of WordStream)

Microsoft is a great place to advertise for a variety of reasons.

Spending your advertising money carefully might help you get the most bang for your buck (ROI). Rather of investing all of your advertising expenditures in a single SEM campaign, distribute them among different search engine advertising platforms, such as Google and Microsoft Advertisements, as well as social media ads.

Bing may not be as well-known as Google, but it has a loyal following among a smaller group of users. It has a 2.71 percent share of the global search engine market, compared to Google’s 91.95 percent, which may not sound like much, but it is the second most popular search engine. And with that much market share, your advertising might be seen by over 1 billion unique visitors every month on Microsoft Ads.

Audience, pricing, and your industry are all reasons to utilize Microsoft Ads—sometimes in combination with Google Ads and Facebook Ads, and sometimes instead.

Google Ads vs. Microsoft Ads

Microsoft Ads and Google Ads are comparable in terms of platforms. Setting up a Google Adwords account is quite similar to setting up a Microsoft Adwords account. Both require you to bid on keywords, with the top placement going to the winner of the auction for the search phrase. However, there are some significant distinctions that may persuade you to allocate more of your advertising money to one or the other.

Price

Although you’ll only pay for what you can afford on both PPC networks, Microsoft Ads has significantly less competition than Google Ads. Overall, the average CPC for Microsoft Ads is around 33% cheaper than for Google Ads. Despite the fact that Google advertising expenditures are normally greater, the audience is bigger. The disadvantage of Microsoft Ads is that the volume of visitors is lesser, but you will reach a different audience.

Audience

Although Google attracts a higher percentage of individuals who solely use Google for searches in the United States, 62 million people use both Bing and Google, while 66 million just use Bing. The connection improves those figures since Bing is part of the Microsoft network of products. As a result, Bing is more likely to be used by Microsoft product consumers. And those consumers’ demographics are a little more narrow than Google’s.

The majority of Bing searches, according to Microsoft, are 45 to 54 years old and have a household income of more than $100,000. Google’s users are mostly between the ages of 18 and 44.

Network

Because the Microsoft Search Network encompasses more than just Bing, your ad may appear on sites other than Bing. MSN, Yahoo, and AOL are all part of the network. Microsoft also owns a number of third-party websites and platforms that might be useful.

Google Ads appear in Google and Google’s search partners’ results, such as YouTube. There’s also the Google Display Network, which lets you place your display ad on third-party websites that are related to your term or subject.

Who Should Use Microsoft Advertising or Google Ads?

Both ad networks are suitable for any small company or industry, although you may have more success with particular demographics. Because there is less competition on Bing than on Google, luxury items and financial services perform well with Microsoft Ads (Yahoo is a huge finance and investing area), and your funds go farther on Bing than on Google.

If the appearance of your ad influences your selection, keep in mind that each ad on Bing results pages is identified as an ad by a little label next to it. The label is smaller and more difficult to see than the one on Google.

Screenshot of Google Ad

Screenshot of Microsoft Advertising

Facebook Ads vs. Microsoft Ads

If you’re deciding whether to advertise your small company on Microsoft Ads or Facebook Ads, keep in mind that search engine marketing (SEM) takes a somewhat different strategy than social media marketing, but both have the same aim of discovery and conversion. When deciding between one or the other, or both, there are certain distinctions to consider.

Price

For all sectors, the average CPC for Facebook Ads is about $1.72, which is just slightly more than Bing Ads. Given that costs vary based on your sector, pricing isn’t the greatest indication of which platform to choose for your advertising budget.

Audience

The easiest method to choose between Microsoft Advertisements and Facebook Ads is to think about your target demographic and how you want your ads to appear. Your ad appears when a person searches for anything relevant to your industry, company, or keywords using Microsoft Ads. Users will see it as they scroll through their feed or on the side of the social media platform. An ad on Facebook appears for an audience based on interests and demographics, and it appears without search intent—users will see it as they scroll through their feed or on the side of the social media platform.

Network

As previously stated, Microsoft’s ad network comprises MSN, Yahoo, and Bing, as well as third-party websites. Facebook advertising will display in the news feed, marketplace, video feed, and right column of Facebook’s social media platform, as well as on Instagram’s feed, store, and browsing area.

Who Should Use Microsoft Ads or Facebook Ads?

A Microsoft Ad is best for small companies that offer a need that people actively look for, such as a service or common product. Facebook (and Instagram) social advertisements are better for companies providing items or services that consumers may desire but are unaware of. It’s more about discovery than precise search when it comes to social media advertising.

Tip: Can’t decide whether to use Facebook or Google Ads? The solution is identical to the one before, except one is unexpectedly less expensive.

6 Steps to Creating a Microsoft Ad

It’s simple to launch your first Microsoft Ad campaign, and there are only six steps to follow. You may set up your campaign and budget after creating a Microsoft Advertising account and selecting your keywords. You may alter your daily budget, create new ads, and track the progress of each campaign from your account.

Microsoft Ads is simple to use, but if you don’t have the time to manage your advertising campaigns, you may hire pros to assist you. Hibu is a Microsoft Advertising Select Partner with extensive experience in SEM campaigns, so it can assist you in determining the best keywords to target and getting the most bang for your buck.

Here’s how to get started with Microsoft Ads:

1. Create an account with Microsoft Advertising.

To sign up for Microsoft Advertising, go to the Microsoft Advertising home page and select the button in the upper right corner. You’ll be asked to log in if you already have an account. Otherwise, you may establish a new account by providing an email address, a name, and a birth date, followed by a one-time code to validate your email address.

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After that, answer a few questions about your company and your objectives. If you operate a brick-and-mortar store, for example, you could want to utilize Microsoft Ads to increase foot traffic, but online firms are more likely to seek more site visitors. You may also select to target your adverts to a certain place; you can go as broad as you like (global, nation) or focus on local areas near your company (county, city, street).

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2. Select a Keyword Theme

On Microsoft Advertising, a keyword theme is used to target consumers based on the items or services you provide. If you run a cookie-delivery service, topics like cookies delivered, ship cookies, cookies by mail free shipping, fresh made cookies online, and bakery online purchasing might be useful.

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3. Create a Microsoft advertisement

To create your first ad, you must complete out a form provided by Microsoft Ads. It has a character counter underneath each field so you can see when you’ve reached the maximum number of characters. Your second description line, like Google Ads, is restricted to 90 characters.

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Microsoft encourages you to enter your company phone number once you’ve created your ad. It contains tracking information, so you can see how many calls came in as a result of your ad in your dashboard.

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4. Make a financial plan

Microsoft Ads provides a prediction of how well your keywords and industry will perform. Based on typical click-through rates, it also forecasts how many clicks you could obtain. You may spend as much or as little money on advertising as you like. The amount you input determines how much you’ll spend on a daily basis; the monthly maximum is shown underneath the entry.

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5. Add Payment Information & Go Live With Your Microsoft Ad

After that, provide your company’s name and address. Fill out your payment details on the following screen. You can only pay with a credit or debit card, and you may either prepay or pay later. As a result, your card will be charged either before or after you spend advertising money on the site.

Screenshot of Microsoft Ads Add Payment Info

Screenshot of Microsoft Ads Go Live

6. Keep an eye on the results of your campaigns.

Microsoft Ads just underwent a major overhaul. The appearance is more contemporary and sleek than before. From here, you can fine-tune your SEM campaigns, raise or reduce your budget, create new campaigns, and analyze your ad campaign data to see what works and what doesn’t.

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Microsoft Advertising customers may also utilize a keyword planner to determine the best keywords for a campaign. You may use a number of demographics to target certain places, languages, and keyword phrases by omitting certain terms (negative keywords). You’ll be able to acquire a CPC estimate for keywords as well.

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Most Commonly Asked Questions (FAQs)

Are Microsoft advertisements free?

Microsoft advertising aren’t free, but they may be reasonably priced for small companies looking to target a certain niche. It’s free to sign up for a Microsoft Advertising account, and you can make your advertising budget as high or low as you choose. List your firm in the free Bing for Business directory as one method to promote your business for free.

Is Bing a better search engine than Google?

Both Bing and Google are well-known search engines, and they’re beginning to place a greater emphasis on local companies and search results. Google has a larger market share and is the world’s most popular search engine; Bing is in second place. Google’s user base is more diversified, while Bing’s is more specialized, with users who are often higher-income and older in age. One local advertising suggestion is to make sure your company is listed in both search engines’ business directories (it’s free).

Is there a difference between Bing and Microsoft ads?

Yes. Bing Ads was the previous name for Microsoft Advertising, which is currently known as Microsoft Advertising. MSN, Yahoo, AOL, and Bing are all members of the Microsoft Advertising Network, and advertising may display on any of the four sites, as well as third-party websites that have collaborated with Microsoft.

Conclusion

Businesses may register a free account on Microsoft Advertising (previously Bing Ads) to use its advertising platform. Create an ad by signing up for a Microsoft Advertising account, setting objectives and keywords, designing an ad, deciding on a budget, and launching it. Businesses specialized in luxury goods and services, as well as the financial sector, may use Microsoft advertisements to reach consumers aged 45 and above with an average yearly income of $100,000.

You Might Also Enjoy…

  • Before you publish your Microsoft ad, make sure your small business website looks excellent.
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  • Learn how to use Yelp for Business to boost your visibility—not it’s only for restaurant owners.

The “bing ads best practices” is a guide that will help you understand the basics of Microsoft Advertising. This includes how to find your campaign, set up your account and create your first ad.

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