Bing (Microsoft Advertising) as a complement to Google Ads

Microsoft Advertising, formerly known as Bing Ads, is the ad network that powers Bing, Yahoo and the search function in Windows and Edge. For many B2B marketers in the Benelux it is a blind spot: Google has the biggest search volume, so that is where the budget goes. Fair enough. But once your Google Ads runs profitably, Microsoft Advertising often holds cheap volume you are leaving on the table, volume your competitor has not tapped either. In this guide you will read when expanding makes sense, how to approach it without disrupting your existing pipeline, and what to judge the channel on.

This article is part of our pillar on what SEA is and how to use it. That is where you get the full picture; here we zoom in on the step of expanding to a second search network.

Why Microsoft Advertising is interesting for B2B

Search volume on Bing is smaller than on Google, there is no point pretending otherwise. But the make-up of that volume often works in your favour when you want to reach business decision-makers.

Bing is the default search engine in Edge and in many corporate Windows environments. In organisations where IT manages the browser and search settings, and which do not actively switch to Google, employees simply search through Bing. Those are exactly the profiles you want to reach in B2B: people behind a work laptop, during office hours, with a business question.

On top of that, competition on Microsoft Advertising is generally lower. Fewer advertisers bidding on the same keywords usually means a lower cost per click for comparable intent. You buy the same purchase-ready query, only cheaper. For a B2B account where you judge every lead on pipeline value, that can be the difference between a channel that just misses the mark and a channel that clears it comfortably. If you want to weigh the two networks against each other directly, read Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads.

The asset that really sets Microsoft Advertising apart is LinkedIn profile targeting. Because LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft, you can refine your bids and audiences based on job function, industry and company. In a search network where you normally steer only on keyword and intent, that adds a B2B layer Google does not offer in the same way. So you can sharpen a search campaign towards decision-makers in the industries that matter to you.

When you are better off not expanding yet

Microsoft Advertising is a complement, not a starting point. Do not begin with it if your Google Ads is not yet in order. If your main channel is still searching for the right keywords, bidding strategy and landing pages, a second network mostly copies your doubts and doubles the work.

The right order is simple. First you build campaigns in Google Ads that demonstrably deliver pipeline, measured all the way to deal level. Only once you have a validated foundation there, with campaigns you would give more budget without hesitation, does expanding become interesting. Microsoft Advertising then lets you import your existing structure, so you do not start from scratch but build on what already works.

Do you have too little volume, or a niche audience that is hard to reach anyway? Then the question is whether the extra management time outweighs the limited additional reach. A second channel costs attention, and that attention has to pay off somewhere. If you are in doubt, hold it against your growth goals instead of adding the channel just because you can.

How to approach the expansion

The big win with Microsoft Advertising is that you do not have to start over. The platform has an import function that takes over your Google Ads campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads. That is your starting point, not your end point.

Import, but do not copy blindly. A Google Ads campaign that works is tuned to the audience and the competition on Google. On Bing, the bids, the competition and sometimes the search intent are slightly different. Take over the structure and treat the first weeks as a learning phase: look at which keywords pay off here and which do not, and steer based on what you see.

Keep bids and budgets separate. It is tempting to take over your Google bidding strategy one to one, but the lower CPC and smaller volume call for their own settings. Give the channel its own budget so you can measure cleanly what it contributes, separate from Google.

Set up your conversion tracking fully from day one. This is where most accounts drop the ball. If you only measure whether someone fills in a form, you do not know whether that lead becomes pipeline or revenue. Just as with Google, the rule here is: link your leads back to your CRM and send offline conversions back to the platform, so you know which keywords and ads really produce deals. Without that feedback loop you judge Microsoft Advertising on a lower click price instead of on pipeline, and that is exactly the wrong yardstick.

Apply your LinkedIn targeting in phases. Start with your imported structure, let data come in, and add the profile layer afterwards. First measure what the search network does on its own, then refine towards the right job functions and industries. That way you know whether an improvement comes from your targeting or from the channel as a whole.

What to judge the channel on

A lower cost per click is nice, but it is not a goal in itself. Cheap clicks that never turn into enquiries are still wasted budget, just more slowly. The question is not whether Microsoft Advertising delivers cheaper clicks, but whether it delivers pipeline you would not have had otherwise.

So judge the channel the same way as the rest of your SEA: on leads your sales team qualifies, on opportunities that enter your pipeline, and on deals that close. A channel that delivers half the volume at a third of the cost with the same lead quality is an excellent complement. A channel with cheap clicks and weak leads is not, however attractive the CPC may look.

Do not view Microsoft Advertising as an island either. It is an extra acquisition layer within a growth engine that also includes organic visibility, social ads and your website. A decision-maker who first comes across your brand through Bing may return later via Google or directly. So do not judge channels on the last click alone, but on their contribution to the whole.

Have specialists run it

A second search network sounds simple, but the value sits in the details: the import choices, the separate bidding strategy, conversion tracking down to deal level and the LinkedIn layer. That is exactly the work where an experienced google ads specialist makes the difference, because the principles that keep your Google account profitable apply just as well to Microsoft Advertising.

Do you want to get your foundation in order first before expanding? Then read how to use Google Ads as a channel that buys pipeline instead of clicks, and how to link your leads back to real revenue with offline conversions. Those two foundations determine whether an expansion to Bing pays off or only adds noise.

Not sure whether Microsoft Advertising is worth it in your situation, or do you want your entire SEA approach built around pipeline instead of vanity numbers? Get in touch and we will look together at your growth goals, your current account and the logical next step.