Google Ads vs Microsoft Advertising

If you're advertising online, you're probably using Google Ads or Facebook. But have you ever considered using Microsoft Advertising? In today's post, I'm going to dive into whether Microsoft Advertising is worth your investment. We'll explore a few pros and cons to help you decide if it is right for your business.

Why Consider Microsoft Advertising?

Market Share: Smaller than Google

Google controls a massive portion of the search engine market. Studies indicate that Google gets nearly 90% to 95% of all search engine traffic, excluding Amazon.

Bing's Slice of the Pie: Microsoft Advertising primarily operates through Bing, which captures most of the remaining 5-10% of search traffic. While this might sound small, it still represents millions of potential clicks.

Keep in mind, you're not going to get the same click volume through Microsoft Advertising as you do with Google Ads. If you're looking to extend your reach, even a small percentage can add value.

Audience Demographics

Who Uses Bing?

Generalization Ahead: Typically, Bing users are those who haven't changed their default search engine on browsers like Microsoft Edge. The audience tends to be slightly older, as many are using computers with pre-installed Microsoft software. You could also think of a typical office professional whose organization uses the Microsoft suite as a typical customer avatar for Bing search.

Is Your Target Audience Here?: If your business caters to older demographics, Microsoft Advertising could be a good fit. However, always keep in mind the smaller market share that I mentioned above.

Cost Per Click: A Budget-Friendly Option

Lower CPC: One of the significant advantages of Microsoft Advertising is the lower cost per click (CPC) compared to Google Ads (not always, but a lot of the time). In many industries, the CPC on Microsoft is notably less, which can be a game-changer if you're struggling with high costs on Google (it isn't impossible to get cheap clicks on Google Ads, but it is tougher).

If you're finding it hard to drive profitable results due to a high CPC in your Google Ads campaigns, Microsoft Advertising could be a cost effective alternative for you.

Interface and Features: Catching Up to Google

Automation and Efficiency: Google Ads has moved significantly towards automation with campaign types like Performance Max. Microsoft is heading in that direction, but they’re not quite as advanced yet (even if an identical campaign type is available on Microsoft).

This means that strategies which might have become less effective on Google due to automation shifts could still work well on Microsoft. Microsoft is a bit behind in terms of automation capabilities, largely because they have less data to work with (in my opinion).

Remember, even if Microsoft's automation were perfectly in line with Google's, the smaller market share would still limit their learning rate.

Should You Advertise on Microsoft Advertising?

Extend Your Reach

For most businesses seeing good results on Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising can be an excellent supplementary platform to extend your reach. You can duplicate your campaigns with relative ease if that is what you choose.

Focus on Prioritization

One common mistake is spending equal time on optimization efforts for both Google and Microsoft Advertising. Given the smaller opportunity on Bing, prioritize your efforts on Google Ads. Don’t split your time 50/50 between platforms. Focus more on Google and adjust your Microsoft campaigns as needed.

The Budget Factor

If you're operating with a minimal budget on Google (less than $30 per day), it might not be worth starting a Microsoft Advertising account. The fewer clicks from a really small budget you're likely to have won't justify the time and effort.

Summary

If you’re looking to expand your advertising and tap into a different audience base, Microsoft Advertising offers some nice perks. Just remember to manage your time wisely and adjust your expectations according to the platform's potential.

For those seeing solid results on Google Ads but eager to reach that extra 5-10%, Microsoft Advertising could provide the boost you're looking for.