5 Reasons Why Businesses Should be Using Microsoft Ads

While it’s fair to say that Google has come to dominate the overall search market, it would still be wise not to forget about Microsoft. Including Microsoft Advertising in your marketing strategy is a wise move, as it is still in a position to be able to reach certain segments of your target audience very well. At Cibirix, we recommend a combined Google and Microsoft paid advertising approach for all of our marketing clients. The search marketers who continue to win in 2023 will be those who don’t just limit themselves to Google advertising.

Here are five specific benefits of choosing to leverage Microsoft ads for your business:

1. Less Competition, and Lower Pay-Per-Click Costs

Many small and medium-sized businesses may assume that Microsoft Advertising is no more than an afterthought anymore – but they’d assume wrong. It’s really best to take advantage of both Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising.

The fact of the matter is that Microsoft and Google are each able to reach some unique demographics, respectively. With the Bing Network in particular, users tend to fall in the 35-54 age range. And if you’ve been in marketing for more than a minute, you know that this demographic has money to spend! Microsoft Advertising also allows you to succeed with a wider audience of your targeted group, and thus produce better results than simply relying upon Google Ads alone.

And here’s another plus with Microsoft Advertising – you’ll enjoy better ad positions with cheaper prices per click. What Bing lacks in total volume, it more than makes up for in terms of ad performance. And with less competition on Bing, you can leverage Microsoft ads that cost up to 70% less than comparable Google Ads.

2. Great ROI

Less traffic means less competition, lower costs, and potentially higher return on investment. Any business that isn’t taking advantage of Microsoft Bing could easily be losing 10% of extra sales or more.

We’ve been able to generate some impressive lead numbers for our Cibirix marketing clients over the holiday period, especially in comparison to 2020 and 2021 numbers:

• DIY specialist – 150% YoY growth for Black Friday promotions, with a 2,000% return on advertising spend.
• Online gifts merchant – 75% YoY growth over the previous holiday period, and record weekly sales during the week of Black Friday.

3. Make the Most Out of Desktop Searches

While it’s true that you should take a mobile-first strategy for most marketing efforts in 2023, don’t forget about desktops and laptops. The Microsoft Search Network accounts for nearly 37% of all computer-based searches, including desktops and laptops. And some people still prefer to use a computer while conducting web searches, particularly if they’re doing so from work or in a home office.

Yes, mobile traffic continues to increase and shouldn’t be ignored. But desktop traffic shouldn’t be ignored either, especially if you’re looking to gain a leg up on your competition.

For B2B businesses and E-commerce businesses in particular, desktop traffic is still an important source of leads and sales. And don’t forget this important fact: desktop traffic converts much more effectively across all channels than mobile traffic. In fact, in some cases desktop traffic converts at a rate over double that of mobile and tablets, because the user experience is generally better on a desktop than it is on mobile.

Mobile-first certainly makes sense for most businesses, but that doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to mobile-only. You can extend your reach and increase your traffic by increasing your search volume through Microsoft Ads.

4. Effective Audience Targeting

The quality of the Bing audience is generally more “discerning” than that of other search engines. What that means for you is that a user who decides to click on your Bing ad is much more likely to be an interested, motivated searcher, resulting in better click-through rates for your ads. More than one-third of Bing users make over $100,000 per year, and the overwhelming majority make over $40,000. Since 56% of Bing’s users land in the 25-55 age range, this should come as no great surprise. Obviously, if you’re targeting younger demographics there are better ways to do so, but if you’re looking for older paying customers, you’re simply leaving money on the table if you aren’t using Bing.

5. Expand Your Reach Beyond Google Ads

Should you be leveraging Google Ads? Absolutely. But if you don’t want to miss out on any potential impressions and clicks, you’ll want to utilize Microsoft Advertising, too. You can even import your Google Ads into Microsoft with advanced features that allow you to customize your campaigns in detail.

Utilizing both Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising together will help you reach more unique demographics with your ad campaigns, period.

Conclusion

Interested in maximizing your business reach and digital marketing impact? Then a smart combination of Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising is the best strategy for SEM success.

We hope we’ve been able to enlighten you about why adding Bing and Microsoft Advertising to your digital marketing toolkit is a smart move. Got questions? Ready to get started?

Cibirix is a full-service digital marketing company that specializes in effective strategies for SEO, paid advertising, social media management, content marketing, and website development. No matter where you are in your digital marketing journey, we can help you to land on the right strategy to make your efforts and investments even more effective.

Connect with us today, and let one of our digital marketing experts come alongside to help you hit your business growth targets by reaching your marketing goals!