Bing Ads

Bing Ads, officially rebranded as Microsoft Advertising in 2019, is Microsoft’s pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platform that displays search ads on Bing, Yahoo, MSN, DuckDuckGo (via syndication), and across the Microsoft Audience Network.

While Google Ads dominates search advertising with roughly 90% market share globally, Bing Ads serves a significant and often underestimated audience. In the US, Bing powers approximately 30% of desktop search traffic. For advertisers, this translates to lower competition, cheaper clicks, and access to demographics that skew older, higher-income, and more desktop-focused than Google’s average user.

This guide explains how Bing Ads works, why advertisers use it, how it compares to Google Ads, and how to run effective campaigns on the platform.

How Bing Ads Works

Bing Ads operates on an auction-based PPC model similar to Google Ads. Advertisers bid on keywords relevant to their products or services. When someone searches those keywords on Bing, an auction runs in real-time to determine which ads show and in what order.

The Auction System

The auction considers two main factors: your bid amount and your ad quality score.

Bid amount is what you’re willing to pay for a click. You can set maximum bids per keyword or let Bing optimize bids automatically based on your goals (maximize clicks, maximize conversions, target CPA).

Quality Score is Bing’s assessment of ad relevance and landing page quality. A higher Quality Score means you pay less per click for the same ad position. Quality Score factors include:

• Expected click-through rate (CTR) based on historical performance
• Ad relevance to the search query
• Landing page experience and relevance
• Historical account performance

Ad Rank is calculated by multiplying bid × Quality Score (simplified; the actual formula is more complex). Higher Ad Rank wins better positions.

This means you don’t necessarily need the highest bid to get the top ad spot. A lower bid with excellent relevance and quality can outrank a higher bid with poor quality.

Where Bing Ads Appear

• Bing search results: Ads appear above and below organic results, marked as “Ad” or “Sponsored.”
• Yahoo search: Through a partnership, Bing powers Yahoo’s search ads.
• MSN, Outlook.com, and Microsoft properties: Ads appear across Microsoft’s ecosystem, reaching users on news, email, and other services.
• Microsoft Audience Network: Display ads on MSN, Microsoft Edge, and partner sites. This extends reach beyond search into native advertising.
• DuckDuckGo: Bing provides some search results and ads to DuckDuckGo, though DDG doesn’t show all Bing ads due to their privacy focus.

Why Advertisers Use Bing Ads

Despite Google’s dominance, many advertisers find Bing Ads valuable for specific reasons.

Lower Cost Per Click (CPC)

Bing Ads typically costs 30-50% less per click than Google Ads for the same keywords. This happens because fewer advertisers compete in Bing auctions, driving down bid prices.

For small businesses with limited budgets, Bing Ads stretches advertising dollars further. The same budget that buys 100 clicks on Google might buy 150-175 clicks on Bing.

Different Audience Demographics

Bing users skew older, wealthier, and more desktop-focused than the average Google user.

• Age: Bing users average 45+ years old, while Google’s user base skews younger.
• Income: Studies show Bing users have higher average household incomes than Google users.
• Device: Bing captures a larger share of desktop search than mobile. If your product or service converts better on desktop, Bing’s audience profile fits.
• Education: Bing users tend to have higher education levels on average.

For industries targeting older, higher-income demographics (luxury goods, financial services, B2B services, healthcare), Bing’s audience often converts better despite lower traffic volume.

Less Competition

With fewer advertisers competing, winning top positions is easier. New advertisers can compete effectively without being outbid by companies with massive ad budgets.

LinkedIn Profile Targeting

Microsoft Advertising offers LinkedIn profile targeting unavailable anywhere else. You can target ads based on company, job function, or industry pulled from LinkedIn profiles. For B2B advertisers, this is uniquely valuable.

Import from Google Ads

Microsoft Advertising lets you import campaigns directly from Google Ads. This dramatically reduces setup time. You can replicate your Google campaigns in minutes, test Bing’s performance, and adjust from there.

Bing Ads vs Google Ads: Key Differences

While the platforms function similarly, several differences matter for campaign strategy.

Audience Reach

Google Ads reaches far more people. Google processes over 5 billion searches daily. Bing handles roughly 500 million. If raw volume matters most, Google wins.

However, Bing’s smaller audience can be an advantage when targeting specific demographics that over-index on Bing.

Cost and Competition

Bing CPCs run significantly lower. For highly competitive keywords where Google CPCs reach $20-50, Bing equivalents might cost $10-25.

The lower competition also means Quality Score optimization matters even more on Bing. With fewer advertisers, a well-optimized ad can dominate.

Ad Features

Google Ads typically releases new features first. Bing eventually matches most features but often with a delay of months or years.

Current feature gaps include some Google responsive search ad capabilities and certain automated bidding strategies that Google offers but Bing doesn’t fully support.

Device Performance

Bing performs particularly well on desktop. If your conversion data shows desktop significantly outperforms mobile, allocating more budget to Bing makes sense.

Interface and Tools

Google Ads interface is more polished and feature-rich. Bing’s interface works well but feels less refined. Learning curve is similar if you already know Google Ads.

Setting Up Bing Ads Campaigns

The basic setup process follows the same structure as Google Ads.

Account Creation

Sign up at ads.microsoft.com. You’ll need a Microsoft account (Outlook, Hotmail, or create new).

Campaign Structure

Organize campaigns by product line, service, or geographic target. Within campaigns, create ad groups focused on tightly related keywords.

Example structure:

• Campaign: Women’s Running Shoes
  • Ad Group: Trail Running Shoes
    • Keywords: women’s trail running shoes, best trail shoes women, waterproof trail runners
  • Ad Group: Road Running Shoes
    • Keywords: women’s road running shoes, lightweight running shoes, marathon shoes

Keyword Research

Use Bing’s Keyword Planner (similar to Google’s tool) to find keywords, estimate search volume, and see suggested bids.

Import keywords from Google Ads campaigns if you’ve already researched there. Then review Bing-specific search volume data and adjust.

Ad Creation

Write compelling ad copy with clear value propositions and strong calls to action.

Ad components:

• Headlines (up to 15 headlines for responsive search ads)
• Descriptions (up to 4 descriptions)
• Display URL
• Final URL (landing page)

Best practices:

• Include keywords in headlines
• Highlight unique selling points
• Use clear CTAs (“Buy Now,” “Get Quote,” “Learn More”)
• Match ad messaging to landing page content

Bidding Strategy

Start with manual CPC bidding to understand keyword performance. Once you have conversion data, test automated strategies like maximize conversions or target CPA.

Landing Pages

Direct traffic to relevant, specific landing pages. A generic homepage converts poorly. Product pages or dedicated landing pages matching ad intent perform better.

Bing Ads Performance Tracking

Microsoft Advertising provides comprehensive analytics.

Key Metrics

• Impressions: How many times your ad was shown
• Clicks: How many people clicked
• CTR (Click-Through Rate): Clicks ÷ Impressions. Measures ad relevance and appeal.
• CPC (Cost Per Click): Total cost ÷ clicks. Your average cost per click.
• Conversions: Completed desired actions (purchases, signups, calls)
• Conversion Rate: Conversions ÷ clicks. Measures landing page effectiveness.
• CPA (Cost Per Acquisition): Total cost ÷ conversions. What you pay for each conversion.
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Revenue ÷ ad cost. Measures profitability.

Conversion Tracking

Set up UET (Universal Event Tracking) tags on your website to track conversions. This JavaScript tag monitors when users complete goal actions.

Without conversion tracking, you’re flying blind. You see clicks but don’t know which keywords actually drive business results.

Bing Ads and Multi-Account Management

Agencies and marketing teams managing Bing Ads for multiple clients often encounter Microsoft’s fraud detection systems when accessing many accounts from the same device.

Microsoft tracks device fingerprints and login patterns. If the same device accesses 20 different Bing Ads accounts, the system flags it as potential unauthorized access or click fraud activity.

The challenge: Legitimate agencies need to manage multiple client accounts, but doing so from one device triggers security alerts, account locks, or verification loops.

The solution: Multilogin’s antidetect browser creates isolated browser profiles for each client account. Each profile presents a unique device fingerprint to Microsoft. When you log into Client A’s Bing Ads account from Profile A and Client B’s account from Profile B, Microsoft sees two distinct devices, not one device accessing multiple accounts.

This prevents security flags while maintaining proper account isolation. Each client’s campaigns, data, and billing remain completely separate at both the Microsoft Advertising level and the browser profile level.

For agencies managing multiple accounts across platforms including Bing Ads, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and social media, consistent isolation infrastructure prevents detection issues that interrupt client work.

Bing Ads Best Practices

Test Bing alongside Google, not instead of: Most advertisers should run campaigns on both platforms. Start with a Bing budget of 10-20% of your Google budget, test performance, and adjust based on results.

Import Google campaigns to start, then optimize: Use the import feature to quickly set up Bing campaigns mirroring your Google structure. Once running, optimize specifically for Bing’s audience and lower competition.

Bid more aggressively on desktop: Bing’s strength is desktop search. Consider device bid adjustments that increase bids for desktop users.

Use LinkedIn targeting for B2B: If you’re targeting specific industries or job roles, LinkedIn targeting is Bing’s unique advantage.

Monitor Quality Score closely: With less competition, Quality Score improvements impact costs more dramatically than on Google.

Test ad copy variations: Lower CPCs mean you can test more variations affordably. Use this to find messaging that resonates with Bing’s demographic.

Summary: When Bing Ads Makes Sense

Bing Ads works best for:

• Advertisers targeting older, higher-income demographics
• Industries where desktop conversions outperform mobile
• B2B companies that benefit from LinkedIn targeting
• Budget-conscious advertisers seeking lower CPCs
• Advertisers in competitive Google markets looking for less saturated alternatives

While Bing will never match Google’s reach, it offers a valuable complementary channel that often delivers better ROI than its market share suggests.

Start small, import existing campaigns, track performance rigorously, and scale based on results. For many advertisers, Bing becomes a profitable secondary channel that delivers conversions at lower costs than their primary platform.