If you’re already running a successful Google Ads campaign, one of the first questions I would ask is pretty simple: why aren’t you running Microsoft Advertising too?
I still hear people call it Bing Ads, and from a search-marketing standpoint that is probably how a lot of advertisers think about it. The platform itself is Microsoft Advertising, and it gives advertisers access to Bing along with additional search partners and Microsoft properties. The bigger point is that it gives you access to another group of people actively searching for products and services.
I’m not suggesting businesses move their Google Ads budget to Microsoft just because another platform exists. Google is still the center of most paid search programs I work with. But if you already know which keywords, ads, landing pages, and offers generate conversions in Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising can be a relatively low-effort way to test whether that same strategy can produce incremental results somewhere else.
Google Ads does not have to be your only paid search channel
Paid search tends to become synonymous with Google Ads. That makes sense. Google is where many businesses start, where agencies tend to spend the most time, and where a large percentage of search advertising budgets ultimately go.
The problem is that this can lead marketers to treat paid search as a single-platform strategy instead of an intent strategy.
What I care about is the user’s intent. If someone is searching for the product or service my client sells, I want to understand whether I can reach that person profitably. It does not particularly matter to me whether that search begins on Google, Bing, or another search engine.
Microsoft Advertising provides another way to reach people while they are actively searching. Microsoft says its Search ads can appear on Bing and across search partner sites, giving advertisers another source of high-intent traffic outside of Google.
Learn more about Microsoft Search ads →
The easiest part: you do not necessarily have to rebuild everything
One of the strongest arguments for testing Microsoft Advertising is that you may already have much of the work done.
Microsoft provides Google Ads import tools that can bring supported campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads, targeting settings, budgets, and other campaign elements into Microsoft Advertising. That means a business with a mature Google Ads account does not necessarily have to start again with an empty advertising platform.
You can bring over the basic campaign structure and then adapt it for Microsoft rather than recreating years of paid search work from scratch.
Microsoft Advertising Google Import tools →
But I would not simply import Google Ads and walk away
Importing campaigns makes setup easier. It does not eliminate the need to manage the campaigns.
This is where I think some advertisers make a mistake. They import their Google Ads account, turn everything on, and then assume Microsoft Advertising should behave exactly like Google.
I would treat the Google account as a starting framework rather than a finished Microsoft Advertising strategy.
After an import, I would review campaign budgets, bidding strategies, keyword match types, negative keywords, geographic targeting, audience settings, ad extensions, landing pages, conversion goals, and campaign-specific settings before allowing significant budget to run.
I would also watch the actual search-term data. A keyword performing well in Google does not automatically mean it will behave the same way on Bing.
The real opportunity is incremental search demand
I do not usually look at Microsoft Advertising as a replacement for Google Ads. I look at it as an opportunity to capture additional demand.
Imagine you have a Google Search campaign generating profitable leads. You have already done the hard work. You know which terms matter, which ads get people to click, which landing pages convert, and approximately what you can afford to pay for a lead or sale.
The next question becomes whether you can take that proven strategy and find additional customers through Microsoft Advertising.
If the Microsoft campaigns generate profitable incremental conversions, that is valuable even if Microsoft never reaches the same traffic volume as Google.
In performance marketing, I am rarely trying to make two channels produce identical numbers. I am trying to understand what each channel contributes to the overall business.
Less traffic is not automatically a disadvantage
A common objection to Bing is that Google has more search volume.
That can be true and still miss the point.
The goal is not necessarily to find another channel with exactly the same amount of traffic as Google. The goal is to find additional qualified traffic that can convert at an acceptable cost.
A campaign that generates fewer conversions can still be worth running if those conversions are profitable and incremental.
I would rather have a smaller campaign consistently generating qualified leads than ignore the opportunity simply because it is not the largest channel in the media plan.
Competition can be different too
One of the reasons Microsoft Advertising deserves a test is that the competitive environment is not always identical to Google.
Different advertisers participate in each auction, budgets can be distributed differently, and the economics of a keyword can change from platform to platform.
That does not mean Microsoft Ads will always be cheaper. I would be careful with anyone promising that. Cost per click, cost per acquisition, and conversion rate depend heavily on your industry, geography, competition, product, offer, and landing page.
What it does mean is that you should measure Microsoft independently rather than assume the results will mirror Google.
Conversion tracking needs to be part of the launch
I would not launch Microsoft Advertising without setting up conversion tracking.
Microsoft uses Universal Event Tracking, commonly called UET, to measure actions that happen after someone interacts with an ad. Depending on the business, that might include a purchase, lead form, phone call, newsletter signup, download, or another meaningful conversion.
Conversion data is what allows you to evaluate the channel beyond clicks and traffic. It also gives Microsoft Advertising better information to use with automated bidding and optimization.
This is one of the same principles I apply across digital marketing campaigns : if we cannot reliably measure what happens after the click, it becomes much harder to make good budget decisions.
Make sure your attribution is consistent
When you add another advertising platform, measurement can get messy quickly if your campaign naming and tracking are inconsistent.
I like to make sure UTMs, analytics channel definitions, conversion events, and reporting conventions are established before scaling another source of traffic. That way Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, paid social, organic search, email, and other channels can be evaluated within the same reporting framework.
If you need help keeping campaign URLs consistent, I also built a free UTM builder that you can use without creating an account.
Microsoft Advertising is especially interesting when Google is already working
I tend to like this test most when a business already has a reasonably mature Google Ads program.
If Google is generating consistent conversions and the campaign structure is solid, you already have a tremendous amount of information available. You know which products or services people search for. You know which keywords matter. You know which landing pages work. You know which offers resonate. You know approximately what a conversion is worth.
That gives you a much stronger starting point for testing Microsoft Advertising.
On the other hand, if the Google account itself is poorly structured, conversion tracking is broken, landing pages are weak, or the campaigns are not generating acceptable results, simply importing everything into Microsoft will probably reproduce many of the same problems on another platform.
Do not blindly split your Google budget
I would also avoid deciding in advance that Google should receive 80 percent of paid search spend and Microsoft should receive 20 percent.
Start with a controlled test.
Give Microsoft enough budget and time to generate useful data. Measure actual search terms, conversion rate, cost per conversion, lead quality, revenue, and return on ad spend where possible. Then decide whether the channel deserves more or less investment.
Budget should follow performance and business opportunity rather than an arbitrary platform allocation.
Google Ads vs. Bing Ads is the wrong question
I see plenty of articles framed as Google Ads versus Bing Ads, but I do not think most businesses need to choose one or the other.
If Google Ads is working, keep using Google Ads.
Then test whether Microsoft Advertising can add profitable reach.
That is a much more useful question than trying to declare one advertising platform the winner.
The strongest paid media programs are usually built by understanding where customers are, testing channels against real business outcomes, and continuing to invest where the numbers make sense.
My approach to testing Microsoft Advertising
If I were adding Microsoft Advertising to an existing paid search program, I would start with the Google campaigns that already have the clearest evidence of success. I would import those campaigns, review every important setting, verify conversion tracking, confirm landing pages and URLs, and launch with a controlled budget.
Then I would compare Microsoft performance against the business benchmarks that actually matter: cost per lead, cost per acquisition, revenue, ROAS, lead quality, and incremental conversions.
From there, I would optimize Microsoft as its own channel rather than continually treating it as a copy of Google.
That is the same approach I use with most digital marketing strategy : start with what we already know, build a measurable test, learn from the data, and scale what works.
Frequently asked questions about Bing Ads and Microsoft Advertising
Is Bing Ads the same as Microsoft Advertising?
Bing Ads is the former name that many marketers still use when talking about Microsoft's search advertising platform. The platform is now called Microsoft Advertising. Search ads can run on Bing as well as participating search partner properties.
Can I import my Google Ads campaigns into Microsoft Advertising?
Yes. Microsoft Advertising provides import tools that can bring supported Google Ads campaigns and campaign settings into Microsoft Advertising. I still recommend reviewing the imported campaigns carefully before relying on them, because settings, audiences, bidding, conversion tracking, and performance can differ between platforms.
Should I use Microsoft Advertising instead of Google Ads?
I generally do not view it as an either-or decision. If Google Ads is generating profitable business, I would usually keep it running and test Microsoft Advertising as an additional source of search demand.
Is Microsoft Advertising cheaper than Google Ads?
Sometimes, but not automatically. Competition and click costs vary by industry, keyword, location, audience, and campaign. The better comparison is whether each platform can generate profitable conversions at a cost that works for your business.
How much should I spend testing Microsoft Advertising?
There is no universal budget. I would base the test on your existing cost per click, conversion rate, and target cost per acquisition. The test needs enough budget to generate meaningful data, but I would not move a large portion of a successful Google Ads budget before Microsoft has demonstrated that it can contribute profitable conversions.
Do I need separate conversion tracking for Microsoft Advertising?
Yes. Microsoft Advertising uses Universal Event Tracking, or UET, to measure website activity and conversion goals. I would verify that tracking is working before using conversion data to make optimization or budget decisions.
Can Microsoft Advertising work for lead generation as well as ecommerce?
Yes. The same search-intent principle applies to both. Ecommerce advertisers can measure purchases and revenue, while lead-generation businesses can track qualified forms, calls, appointments, or other meaningful actions.
Already running Google Ads? Microsoft Advertising may be worth testing.
If your Google Ads campaigns are working, you have already done much of the difficult work required to understand your paid search audience. Microsoft Advertising gives you another place to apply those learnings and potentially reach customers you are not reaching today.
The key is to treat it as a measured expansion of your paid search strategy, not simply another advertising account that needs to be turned on.
If you want help reviewing your paid media strategy, conversion tracking, analytics, or overall digital marketing program, take a look at my digital marketing services , review some of my case studies , or contact me to talk about what you are trying to improve.