When online advertising is mentioned, most people automatically think of Google Ads. However, there is another search engine that can bring you great results - and that is Bing. Despite having a smaller market share than Google, ads on Bing can be very effective, and often at a lower cost. If you want to differentiate yourself from the competition and reach new customers, Bing may be the right choice for your marketing mix.

What is Bing?

Bing is the world's second largest search engine, developed by Microsoft. Although it has a smaller market share than Google, it still has millions of users who use it daily. Bing is integrated into products such as Windows, Xbox and other Microsoft services. For example, on Windows work computers, Bing is often set as the default search engine. As a result, you can reach a wide range of users who use Bing on a daily basis - especially from the business-to-business (B2B) sector, where Microsoft has a large presence.

How to create an ad on Bing?

1. Create a Microsoft Advertising account

If you want to run ads on Bing, the first step is to create an account with Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads). This platform is used to manage your ads on Bing, similar to Google Ads for Google.

• Visit the Microsoft Advertising website(https://ads.microsoft.com/)
• Click the "Sign up now" button (if you already have a Microsoft account, you can use it to sign in)
• Fill in basic information such as email, password and company details.
• You will then be redirected to the Microsoft Advertising environment where you can begin setting up your campaign.

2. Selecting the type of campaign

Once your account is created, it's time to select your campaign type. Microsoft Advertising offers several campaign types depending on your marketing goals. The most common options include:

• Text Ads: The most traditional form of advertising that appears as text on search results pages.
• Shopping ads (Bing Shopping): Display products along with an image, price, and short description.
• Image ads: A progressive way to engage users with visually appealing content.
• Dynamic Search Ads: Automatically generate ad text based on your store's content.

3. Setting basic campaign parameters

After selecting the campaign type, you set a few basic parameters:

• Campaign name: Select a descriptive name that allows you to easily distinguish between campaigns.
• Daily Budget: decide how much you want to invest in advertising per day. This budget can be adjusted later.
• Campaign Focus (targeting): Determine where you want your ad to appear - you can choose geographic targeting, such as by city, region or even country.
• Language settings:Select the important languages spoken by your target audience.
• Timing: For example, you can set your ads to show only on weekdays, or even at specific times during the day.

4. Keyword selection

As with Google Ads, keyword selection on Bing is critical to the success of your ad. Microsoft Advertising allows you to add:

• General keywords: E.g. , "cheap shoes"
• Specific keywords: E.g. ,,buy white sneakers online".
• This way, the ad will only appear if the user types in the query anyway.
• Phrase match: Keywords that allow the ad to appear if the user enters a search query containing your phrases, perhaps with additional words before or after them.

5. Create an ad

Now comes the actual ad setup. For text ads, you'll need to create three main sections:

• Headline: This creates the first impression of the ad. You can add up to three headlines, each with a maximum of 30 characters. Headlines should contain keywords and be as enticing as possible.
• Description: This is where you explain why the user should click on the ad. You have room for 90 characters here.
• Display URL: The address that will be displayed to users when their ad appears. It should be simple and telling about where it will lead.

6. Bid Strategy

On Bing, set up a bidding strategy that determines how much you're willing to pay per click on your ad. You can choose from several options:

• Manual Bidding: You determine how much you want to pay per click (CPC).
• Automated Bid: Bing automatically adjusts bids based on the likelihood of your ad reaching its goal (e.g., increasing conversions).
• Enhanced Bidding: Bing will automatically increase or decrease your bids in real-time based on the likelihood that a user will convert.

7. Ad Extensions Settings (Ad Extensions)

Microsoft Advertising offers ad extensions that increase visibility and improve ad performance. Common extensions include:

• Sub-page link extensions: allow you to add additional links below the main ad that direct users to different parts of the online store.
• Call Extensions: Displays a phone number so customers can easily call.
• Location extension: Adds information about the physical location of your business, which is especially useful for local businesses.

8. Performance tracking and optimization

Once you've run an ad, it's important to track its performance using Microsoft Advertising's analytics tools. They allow you to find out:

• What keywords are delivering the best results.
• Which ads have the highest click-through rates (CTR).
• How much it's costing you per click (CPC) and what the overall return on investment (ROI) is.

9. Import campaigns from Google Ads

If you're already using Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising offers the ability to import campaigns. This process can save a lot of time and effort. Just click on the "Import Campaigns" button and log in to your Google Ads account. You then select which campaigns you want to transfer, and the platform will automatically set them up for Bing.

Conclusion

Bing ads are a great opportunity to reach new customers and increase profits. With less competition and lower cost-per-click, they can be a profitable addition to your marketing strategy. If you're already using Google Ads, importing your campaigns into Microsoft Advertising is a quick and easy way to expand your business to another platform. Try Bing Ads and discover their potential!

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