Bing it! Why Google Ads Isn't Always the Best Search Engine Advertising Platform.

Google. 

An absolute juggernaut of a search engine and advertising platform. 

A name so powerful that even the online version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary added the definition of the term to its database of words. 

Google is the popular kid at school within the search engine realm. More people use Google than any other search engine, which makes it a very commonly preferred choice for internet marketers all over the globe. 

Although the exact numbers may change over time, it’s been reported that there are over 1.17 billion people in the world using Google for searches with over 3.5 billion searches being processed by Google per day. 

At first glance, a larger audience would seem to suggest that greater profits and conversions will follow. 

But is that what actually happens?

The answer to this question may be more counterintuitive than many people realize. It really depends on a number of factors that need to be considered when implementing a marketing strategy. 

As a matter of fact, advertising on a less popular platform can actually yield better results in some cases. 

It might seem a bit weird, but it’s true! 

And out of all the smaller alternatives to Google, the one that really stands out is Bing. 

Bing is basically Microsoft’s answer to Google and it tries to outdo its main competitor in every way it can. 

For Google, the presence of Bing is like having a dorky little brother who began lifting weights and is now ripped with washboard abs. That seniority advantage suddenly doesn’t seem to be as significant anymore! 

Although Google has been the undisputed search engine leader since 2003, it is clear that Microsoft is not afraid of a challenge and wants to revolutionize the digital search space by rivaling the industry's reigning champion. 

Google may still dominate the U.S. search volume, controlling over two-thirds of all search queries, but that doesn’t appear to discourage Bing one bit. 

With a very respectable 12 billion searches worldwide on a monthly basis, Bing is nothing to sneeze at. 

And just like with Google’s system, it’s pretty easy for advertisers to place pay-per-click ads. Advertisers simply place bids on keywords based on their traffic volume and when those keywords are searched, their ads get displayed. Bing then charges advertisers whenever a visitor clicks on one of their ads. 

Furthermore, Microsoft controls more than just Bing. The technology giant also has power over both Yahoo and AOL search engines. 

For an internet marketer this means that when you use Microsoft’s network, you can promote your ad campaign over all three platforms at once. 

Yes, you read that correctly. When advertising on Bing, you can have your pay-per-click ads show up on two other search engines as well! It’s like having a 3-for-1 special offer that never ends! 

And if you’ve already tried doing an ad campaign on another platform, you can even transfer that campaign into your Bing ad using their importing tools. 

Those reasons alone are a strong incentive to work with Microsoft.  

But that is just the beginning. 

There are many MORE great reasons about Bing that make it an attractive option for online marketing. 

So let’s roll up our sleeves and take a deeper look into why Bing may actually be a better search engine advertising platform in some situations. 

Bing has lower CPC (Cost-Per-Click) than Google.

Microsoft Advertising tends to have a cheaper CPC than Google Ads, making it the “cost efficient” option.

There are fewer competitors bidding on keywords, which means you can expect to spend less on your own. 

It is important to note that ad spending fluctuates by industry, but even so, the overall cost of advertising campaigns done through Microsoft tends to be lower in the end.  

Bing's audience is older and tends to have higher income.

Google may have a much bigger reach, but that doesn’t mean every advertising campaign will benefit from reaching certain demographics. 

Chances are, it would be a waste of money to run an ad campaign for denture supplies and have a bunch of twenty year-olds viewing those ads. 

Conversely, I probably wouldn’t care to have a bunch of senior citizens viewing ads for skateboards and other goods related to extreme sports. 

(Although if you DO happen to be a radical skateboarding granny, please send me a video of yourself doing a kickflip. I’d love to see that!) 

In the case of Bing, most users tend to be older, typically ranging between the ages of 35 and 64, and have a higher annual income. 

This means that some ad campaigns may be naturally better suited for Bing than Google. 

Bing tends to have a higher CTR (Click-Through-Rate) for many industries. 

As mentioned before, Google has a higher search volume, but there is another important metric known as CTR (click-through-rate) that needs to be considered. 

According to Investopedia, “the click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of individuals viewing a web page who view and then click on a specific advertisement that appears on that page. Click-through rates measure how successful an ad has been in capturing users' attention. The higher the click-through rate, the more successful the ad has been in generating interest.” 

In other words, when it comes to online advertising, having a high CTR is a very good thing. 

And this just so happens to be an area where Bing has really been excelling lately. 

While exact statistics tend to fluctuate over time, it is clear that some industries get a higher CTR when using Bing. 

So if you happen to be in the financial services industry, for example, it will not only be cheaper to place ads on Bing, but your click-through-rate will be better as well. 

Bing offers unique filtering options.

Want to encourage engagement and cut down on ad spending? Make sure your ad campaigns reach the right people! 

Luckily, both Google and Microsoft offer great targeting options to make advertising campaigns more successful.

With Google’s targeting options, it’s possible to zero in on things like similar audiences, demographics, ad placement, custom-intent, specific topics, content keywords, remarketing, display extensions, etc. 

Another advantage of Google Ads is language targeting, which offers over 40 different languages. With Microsoft Ads, however, you can only target up to 12 languages.

On the other hand, Microsoft’s targeting options may not be quite as robust, but there are a few unique things in there that Google doesn’t offer. 

For example, when using Bing, it is possible to set age filters for your ads, which means that only visitors of a certain age group will see them. This is a feature that Google ads doesn’t offer. 

The Microsoft network also gives you the option to target users based on geographic location, day of the week, and you can even assign different ad campaigns to different time zones. 

You can also manage your campaigns on the go with Microsoft’s mobile advertising app. All you have to do is download the app to reach whatever target audience you want to through any device. 

All of these extra filters can help ensure that only qualified leads are being exposed to your marketing campaigns. 

Ads on Bing tend to appear higher on the search results page.

There’s no doubt that there are currently far fewer users on Bing than Google, but even this fact has its advantages. 

Having fewer users means that ads tend to show up higher on search results. Some estimates have reported that Bing ads appear as much as 35% higher than they would on Google. 

There’s simply less competition on Bing, which means advertisers don’t have to bid as much money during the keyword auction process. 

This means that you can save money and still have a high spot on the search results page. 

Is Bing the better option for you?

I hope you now see that there are some big advantages to using Microsoft’s advertising platform. Bing may not be Google, but it certainly has a lot to offer. 

But is it the better choice overall?

The answer to the question will depend on what you think would be best for your specific advertising campaign.

Google grants access to a massive audience with a wide variety of users, but advertising on there is highly competitive, which means more work is needed to ensure a positive return on investment. 

Bing, on the other hand, is more cost-efficient and is generally a lower-risk option for paid advertising campaigns. 

Bing’s audience is still fairly large, but keyword bidding isn't as competitive and it’s easier to rank high on the list of searches.

There are trade-offs to using both platforms, so it may be a good idea to try both and see what works best. 

In fact, many advertisers choose to run campaigns on both platforms simultaneously if they can afford to do so.

My advice is to consider what your advertising budget is, look at the different factor I’ve mentioned, and make a plan that is the best fit is for you. 

I hope this blog entry will help you make the right choice :)

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