In February 2022, Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) launched portfolio bidding strategies. These strategies enable you to automatically manage the costs of campaigns that promote a single product, balancing between low- and high-performing campaigns.
When working with this feature, it is necessary to allocate the total budget among all active advertisements with the same objective. We will now explore how you can run ads with Microsoft Ads and highlight the specific details to consider when working with the platform.
What Is Microsoft Ads?
Microsoft Advertising is the advertising platform formerly known as Bing Ads. It was introduced to the general public in 2009 by Microsoft as an evolution of their search engines. In 2019, Bing Ads was rebranded as Microsoft Advertising, incorporating other networks and advertising tools into its system. Today, Microsoft Advertising encompasses MSN, Yahoo, and Bing.
Microsoft Advertising generates approximately 7.6 billion searches worldwide per month. In the United States alone, the platform has 49 million users who are not reached by Google, and a total of 120 million people use Microsoft Search in the country.
The popularity of Microsoft Advertising can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, Microsoft's search engines are pre-installed on many Windows laptops by default. Additionally, they are integrated with other Microsoft products such as Cortana, Office, and AOL. As a result, the advertising network has the potential to reach 200 million Windows users worldwide.
According to statistics for 2021, 71% of the audience is over 35 years old, and 54% of users have an annual income of more than $75 000. At the same time, Bing includes more than 40 world languages. All this shows that Microsoft Ads is great for affiliate marketing in America. At the same time, the main audience is the middle class.
Advertising Formats
When launching a campaign on Microsoft Ads, you will first need to select the type of target action. Depending on the advertiser's goals, users can:
- Visit the site
- Come to the company office in person
- Make a purchase from the site
- Call for a consultation
- Different variants. This is possible in responsive search ads
- Install app
- Buy a product from the catalog directly in the ad
When you select any goal, Microsoft Ads prompts you to choose the type of advertising - search or display.
Placements
Ads appear above and to the right of AOL, Yahoo, or Bing search results. You can target by geo, demographics, days of the week, and display time.
Payment Models
Microsoft Ads has a pay-per-click (PPC) policy. In order for the ad to get where it needs to be, you will have to participate in the auction and beat the price of other advertisers.
Case Studies from People Working with Microsoft Ads
“You need to understand that there are no youth in Bing. Conservative-age people sit there,” — says Telegram user Baltazar, who works with an affiliate marketing team that advertises with Microsoft Ads.
Why choose Bing Ads?
Microsoft's grid has relatively little competition. At the same time, if you run ads targeting the USA, an audience of 35-40+ in terms of nutrition or finance, you get a good conversion.
How often do you need to change ad creatives when buying traffic from this source?
We don't change very often.
What is the quality of traffic when compared to, for example, Facebook, TikTok, and Google?
You need to understand that there is no youth on Bing. Only conservative-aged individuals use the platform.
What verticals can be advertised there? Does it make sense to cloak?
Nutra and finances went well with us. Cloakers always help.
List the pros and cons of the source.
In the US, Bing is used by approximately 8-9% of people. This statistic is similar worldwide, indicating that the audience is not limited.
However, there are some drawbacks. Working with payments can be quite problematic, even when we top up our accounts using an American bank. It requires us to allocate funds before each campaign.
Are there any nuances to consider when working with Bing Ads that would be beneficial for beginners to know?
Due to the characteristics of the audience, it is advisable to utilize narrowly targeted advertising campaigns and focus on specific verticals. For instance, e-commerce or promoting Bing products may not yield optimal results.
Fraudulent activities within the Bing network operate differently compared to Google and Facebook. Bing has a stringent approval process, meaning they are less likely to allow fraudulent accounts to pass through. Conversely, it is not uncommon for multiple accounts to face immediate bans on Google and Facebook, while Bing tends to have a more lenient approach. Overall, we found Bing to be preferable, although the Google Ads interface provides more comprehensive information.
"Compared to all other sites, it has a more solvent and targeted audience," Telegram user King Suu, who has been working with Bing Ads for a long time.
Why choose Bing Ads?
A nice feature of this network is that there is low competition for blackhat offers due to the complexity of their campaign setup.
How often do you need to change ad creatives when buying traffic from this source?
I change all the time. True, no one tests ad creatives in Bing, since everyone runs ads on it through the search. However, I do it differently.
What is the quality of traffic when compared to, for example, Facebook, TikTok, and Google?
Compared to all other sites, it has a more solvent and targeted audience.
What verticals can be advertised there? Does it make sense to cloak?
A lot of verticals can work here, especially with Tier-2 countries. A Cloaker is a must.
List the pros and cons of the source
I can only name an advantage for myself. The audience is older people, usually with money. They know what they are looking for and are ready to buy.
Are there any nuances to consider when working with Bing Ads that would be beneficial for beginners to know?
You need to be very careful about the preparation of accounts. We have to farm them for weeks in order to throw them into our shop later. I have a whole team to register and prepare accounts.
"Bing Ads is practically the same as Google Ads, but the traffic is much cheaper there," — says the team leader of an affiliate marketing team under the nickname Yaroslav.
Why choose Bing Ads?
This is a highly underrated traffic source under the US. Bing Ads is almost the same as Google Ads, but the traffic is much cheaper there. Bing Ads is much more promising because many Americans do not use Google Chrome, but Edge with the Bing search engine preinstalled. Both the cost per click and the conversion are cheaper there. The second advantage of Bing is that there are relatively few advertisers.
How often do you need to change ad creatives when buying traffic from this source?
In terms of creatives, Bing Ads is very similar to Google Ads. Therefore, they need to be changed almost as often.
What is the quality of traffic when compared to, for example, Facebook, TikTok, and Google?
As I said above, Bing Ads is very similar to Google. In terms of quality, this is a very good source, if we consider the United States and part of Europe. It is a pity that Bing Ads is not available in all countries.
What verticals can be advertised? Does it make sense to cloak?
All standard verticals which are promoted through search and banners in Google do work. It always makes sense to cloak if you have an offer that requires cloaking.
List the pros and cons of the source.
I already mentioned the pros above. The main thing is that Bing Ads is a source with quality traffic from Tier-1 countries, and the competition there is relatively low. Cons: The audience is much smaller than on Google and Facebook.
Are there any nuances to consider when working with Bing Ads that would be beneficial for beginners to know?
It is crucial to address the payment promptly. The network does not always approve credit card payments linked to an account. There is one key aspect here. If you uncover it, a world of opportunities from Bing will be revealed to you.
“When working with Nutra, the ROI on Bing Ads was 10x higher than on Facebook or Instagram,” — Cesar Domian, MyLead affiliate program manager.
Why choose Bing Ads?
By far the most important aspect is Bing Ads ROI. It is generally cheaper to work there for certain conversion goals compared to Google Ads. Another reason we chose Bing Ads is the full ad optimization and ability to target LinkedIn users.
What is the quality of traffic when compared to, for example, Facebook, TikTok, and Google?
Traffic directly from Bing ads differs from social networks in the ability to target users with individual keywords that closely match the interests of the audience. When working with Nutra, the ROI on Bing Ads was 10x higher than on Facebook or Instagram. But when comparing Bing to Google, the only difference I see is the cost of individual keywords and ad placement.
What verticals can be advertised? Does it make sense to cloak?
I work mostly with the verticals that are compliant. However, it is worth it to use a cloaker if you are running blackhat stuff. However, in my case, a landing page that met the requirements of Bing ads was enough for 1-2 months. After that, it became sophisticated.
List the pros and cons of the source
Pros: less competition and less CPC compared to Google Ads, you can control search engine targeting based on demographics.
Are there any nuances to consider when working with Bing Ads that would be beneficial for beginners to know?
I would advise you to focus on improving your landing page and implementing cloaking techniques. In MyLead, a free tool called HideLink is available to all users. Once you have mastered these aspects, you can shift your attention toward optimizing and monitoring your advertising campaigns. For beginners, I recommend reading tutorials on creating effective landing pages for advertisements, as well as learning how to optimize ads within 7, 14, and 30 days from the date of publication.
"Traffic from Bing is exactly the same quality as Google, but noticeably less traffic," Alexander Shkarupa, Head of USA Affiliate of the Marketcall CPA affiliate network, which promotes flight booking and insurance offers on Microsoft Ads.
Why choose Bing Ads?
Our work with Bing began for a fairly simple reason - after we lost high-converting keywords on Google, we switched to Bing, where the necessary keywords were still available for advertising. In addition, this is a noticeably less competitive source in comparison with the same Google.
How often do you need to change ad creatives when buying traffic from this source?
The situation is absolutely comparable with Google on most points, a new account = new creatives. Affiliates who have been working with Google for a long time most often do not have any problems with launching on Bing.
What is the quality of traffic when compared to, for example, Facebook, TikTok, and Google?
Naturally, it all depends on the specific niche and the keys used. For us (flight booking and insurance) it is exactly the same quality as in Google, but there is noticeably less traffic from Bing.
What verticals can be advertised? Does it make sense to cloak?
With all the white verticals we tried, there were no problems. Now at Bing, we are successfully promoting a mostly gray vertical of air tickets in the US market, and we already have to cloak with this. However, quite successfully.
List the pros and cons of the source
Pros: The traffic is cheaper than in Google with comparable quality, and it is possible to advertise using agency accounts.
Cons: It’s harder to find quality accounts, harder to farm, and harder to find suitable payments.
Are there any nuances to consider when working with Bing Ads that would be beneficial for beginners to know?
Don't start with Bing if you've never worked with Google before. Optimization works much worse than Google, you need to be prepared to optimize a lot manually. If you work in a completely white niche, then it is better to work through agent accounts - support from the agency will save you a lot of time.
Can you share a mini-case study with statistics from one of your recent campaigns?
- Campaign period: November 2022
- Terms: $9-$11.5 dynamic payout for any call connected to an operator
- Spent: $31 156
- Earned: $52 890
- Offer: Flight booking pay per call (branded traffic, Delta, United, Southwest Airlines).
- Creatives examples:
Conclusion
From the feedback of the affiliates, it can be seen that Microsoft Ads is a rather tempting platform for uploading to certain verticals. In an increasingly competitive arbitration industry, this is a good safe haven for those who are tired of the constant struggle with Facebook and uncertainty. The only problem is the search for high-quality payments, but as these affiliates note, it can be solved.
If you have tried working with Microsoft Ads, feel free to share your experience in the comments. After all, for someone, it is your opinion that may be useful.
How often do you need to change ad creatives when buying traffic from this source?
