Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising management: the cheapest clicks in most accounts, and the least looked at
Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Copilot and the Microsoft network reach a desktop-heavy, older and more B2B audience at a lower cost per click than Google for the same query. Most accounts import the Google campaigns once and never open the platform again.
Why Microsoft Advertising is worth managing rather than syncing
The import tool makes it easy to mirror Google Ads into Microsoft Advertising, and the sync keeps the two aligned. That is also the problem: the Microsoft audience is different, the auction is thinner, and the query mix skews towards desktop, older users, corporate networks where Edge and Bing are the default, and now Copilot. A campaign that is right for Google is usually over-bid, under-negatived and mis-scheduled on Microsoft.
- B2B and professional services see the biggest gap, because corporate desktops default to Edge and Bing far more than consumer phones do.
- Finance, insurance, legal and healthcare reach an older audience that converts well and costs less per click.
- Local services benefit from lower competition: many local advertisers never set Microsoft up at all.
What management includes
- Import, then diverge. Google campaigns imported as a starting point, sync limited to what should stay aligned (ads, sitelinks), and bids, budgets, schedules and negatives managed natively.
- Conversion tracking. UET tag through Tag Manager, goals mapped to the same definitions as Google, enhanced conversions and offline import where sales close later. One measurement layer for both engines.
- Microsoft-specific settings. Search partner network reviewed and usually restricted, LinkedIn profile targeting used where it fits (company, industry, job function are available here and not on Google), device and location adjustments set for a desktop-heavy audience.
- Weekly search terms. Microsoft's query matching is looser than Google's, so the negative list needs its own maintenance rather than a copy.
- Reporting alongside Google. Same units, same report, so incremental cost per customer on Microsoft is visible and budget can move accordingly.
How much budget belongs on Microsoft
Typically 5% to 15% of the paid search budget in the US and UK, higher for B2B. The right number is found by measuring, not assumed: Microsoft campaigns start with a modest budget, conversion volume is watched for a month, and spend follows cost per customer. The point is not that Microsoft replaces Google; it is that the same conversion often costs 20% to 40% less there, and leaving it unmanaged leaves that on the table.
Setup, audit or ongoing
Microsoft Advertising is usually added to a Google Ads management retainer as a modest scope increase, or built as part of a setup project. An existing Microsoft account can be included in the audit. Pricing follows the flat-fee model on the pricing page.
Questions people ask before hiring
Is Bing Ads worth it in 2026?
For most B2B, finance, legal, healthcare and local service accounts in the US and UK, yes: the same conversions at a lower cost per click, with less competition. For very young or mobile-first consumer audiences, less so. The test costs little and the answer is usually clear within a month.
Can I just import my Google campaigns and leave it?
You can, and most people do, which is why the accounts I inherit are over-bidding on desktop and running the search partner network unfiltered. Import is the start, not the management.
What does Microsoft Advertising management cost?
Added to a Google Ads retainer it is a small increase in the flat fee. As a standalone account it is priced by scope like anything else, and rarely justifies its own retainer below a few thousand in monthly spend.
Do you manage Microsoft on its own, without Google?
Rarely, because the Google account is usually where the structure and data come from. If Google is run by someone else, I can still manage Microsoft separately, but it works better under one operator; see PPC management.
Related services
Tell me about the account
Spend band, site and what is not working. You get a straight answer on whether I can help, what I would do first and a price range. No proposal deck, no sales follow-up sequence.