Every conversation about paid search is a conversation about Google — reasonably, since that is where the volume lives. But volume is not the same as value. Microsoft Ads (the platform formerly known as Bing Ads) serves the search results on Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo’s ads, and — increasingly relevantly — surfaces woven into Windows, Edge and Microsoft’s Copilot ecosystem. Fewer searches, yes. But also fewer bidders, which is the half of the auction equation advertisers keep forgetting.
The result is a familiar pattern across accounts we run: meaningfully cheaper clicks on the same keywords, comparable or better conversion rates in the right verticals, and a ceiling on volume that arrives much sooner. The question is not ‘Google or Microsoft’ — it is whether the second auction deserves 5–15% of your budget. Often, it does.
👥 Who is actually on Bing (and why it might be your buyer)
Microsoft’s search audience skews towards default-browser users: Edge on Windows machines, corporate desktops where IT policy decides the browser, and an older, often more affluent demographic that never changed the defaults. For B2B advertisers this is quietly excellent — a large share of office-hours, work-machine searching happens on exactly these setups. Financial services, insurance, professional services, travel and home services consistently over-perform on Microsoft relative to their Google baselines; youth-led consumer categories consistently under-perform. Know which side of that line you are on before judging a pilot.
💸 The economics: cheaper clicks, earlier ceilings
Because fewer advertisers compete, CPCs on identical keywords typically land meaningfully below Google’s — the gap varies by sector and market, but paying two-thirds of the Google price is a common experience, and thin-competition niches can be dramatic. The trade-off is reach: exhaust the available impressions and no budget increase will conjure more searches. Treat Microsoft as an efficiency layer, not a growth engine — it lowers your blended CPA while Google carries the volume.
Google is where you buy scale. Microsoft is where you buy the same customer at a discount — until the pool runs dry.
🔧 The 30-minute start: import, then localise
Microsoft Ads can import Google Ads campaigns directly — structure, keywords, ads, negatives — which makes the pilot cost almost trivial. But ‘import and forget’ is where most Microsoft accounts go to die. The import is a starting point that needs localising:
- Rebase the bids. Imported bids reflect Google’s auction prices. Left alone they overpay; cut them and let Microsoft’s own automated bidding relearn the market.
- Re-check the negatives. Microsoft’s matching behaviour and query mix differ. Mine its own search terms report from week one rather than assuming Google’s list covers it.
- Mind the syndication network. A chunk of Microsoft volume comes from syndication partners of very mixed quality. Review the website publisher report early and exclude the junk — this is the platform’s negative-keywords moment.
- Re-schedule the imports. Set recurring imports for structure changes but protect Microsoft-side customisations (bids, budgets, negatives) from being overwritten.
- Track it properly. Install UET (Microsoft’s tag), define conversions natively, and tag URLs so analytics separates the engines — otherwise Microsoft’s contribution hides inside ‘other’ and gets cut at the first budget review.
📊 Judging the pilot fairly
Give a Microsoft pilot the same courtesy as any test: a defined budget (5–10% of Google spend is typical), a full learning window, and the same allowable-CPA yardstick you apply everywhere else. Compare against your Google non-brand performance, not blended figures — brand traffic flatters every average. Expect less volume, better prices, and a slower drip of data; judge on cost per conversion once volume stabilises, not on week one. And keep perspective on effort: a well-set-up Microsoft account needs an hour or two a month, mostly search terms and publisher exclusions. At that maintenance cost, even a modest stream of conversions at two-thirds price is a trade most accounts should take — provided you’ve first funded the proven auction to full delivery.
🧩 The bottom line
Microsoft Ads will not replace Google and was never going to. What it offers is the same customers, in the right verticals, at a persistent discount created by other advertisers’ inattention — plus incremental reach into desktop, corporate and older audiences Google under-serves. Import your proven campaigns, localise the bids and negatives, police the syndication network, and judge it on allowable CPA. The second auction rewards the few who bother to show up properly.
CWA Europe runs Google and Microsoft side by side for online advertising & PPC clients where the economics justify it — one strategy, two auctions. Get in touch to find out what your keywords cost in the auction nobody audits.
📖 Further reading: Performance Max: Help or Hurt?.
References & further reading
- Microsoft Advertising Help — Google Ads import, UET tagging and network settings. help.ads.microsoft.com
- Search Engine Land — coverage of Microsoft Advertising features and market developments. searchengineland.com
- Search Engine Journal — practical Microsoft Ads setup and optimisation guides. searchenginejournal.com
Photo: Christina Morillo · Pexels.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bing's traffic volume even worth the setup effort?
In most European markets Microsoft holds a single-digit share of searches — small, but on meaningful Google budgets that still represents thousands of monthly searches in your category, often at notably lower CPCs. The import tool reduces setup to well under a day, so the effort question usually answers itself for accounts spending four figures a month.
Can I just auto-import my Google campaigns and leave it?
You can import, but not leave it. Bids need rebasing to Microsoft's cheaper auction, negatives need rebuilding from Microsoft's own search terms, and the syndication partner network needs actively policing. An unattended import typically overpays and picks up junk placements — then gets judged a failure for it.
Which businesses should skip Microsoft Ads?
Very small budgets that can't reach readable conversion volume on a second platform, youth-focused consumer brands whose audience barely touches Bing, and businesses whose Google account is still budget-limited on profitable campaigns — fund the proven auction to full delivery before opening a second one.
Does Microsoft Ads have Performance Max and broad match like Google?
Microsoft has been mirroring Google's automation direction — its own Performance Max equivalent, expanding broad match behaviour and audience tooling. The same disciplines transfer: explicit negatives, placement/publisher exclusions and conservative targets keep the automation working for you rather than merely spending for you.