Why You Should Be Running Ads on Bing

Zac Johnson

A proprietary eponym, sometimes more simply referred to as a generic trademark, is what happens when a brand name becomes so popular that it effectively becomes a generic term for that class of product. You know, like Kleenex or Q-Tips, when we should really be calling them facial tissue and cotton swabs. It’s the same reason why practically any portable music player became an “iPod” and any smartphone might be called an “iPhone,” even if it’s not an Apple product. The same is very much true when it comes to Internet marketing and, as a result, you may be overlooking a potentially huge opportunity.

Just as focusing on the iPhone alone might make you overlook the Samsungs and the Pixels of the smartphone world, consciously or otherwise, allowing Google to be synonymous with search engines and AdWords to be synonymous with search ads might not be in your best interest. True enough, Google owns the lion’s share of the worldwide search engine market, but as you may have heard before, the riches are in the niches. And that’s why you should really be running Bing Ads (now officially Microsoft Advertising) either instead of or in addition to your efforts on Google.

Do you know what’s the problem with going along with everyone else? It also means that you’re competing against everyone else. If you’ve ever dabbled in search engine marketing (SEM) at all, then you’ll know that trying to compete on the most popular keywords can prove to be prohibitively expensive. That’s why you seek out alternative or long-tail keywords where there may be less competition, but still enough search volume to make it worth your while.

But what if you were to move away from that hugely competitive arena, either concurrently or entirely? The idea that you can and should run ads on Bing follows precisely from this line of thought. There’s less traffic on Bing, sure, but this also means that it’s much cheaper for you to run ads on Bing — all else held equal — compared to Google. Remember that you’re ultimately still paying on a CPM or CPC (and, in effect, an eCPM) basis anyway. Whether you get those thousand impressions on Google or Bing, it’s still a thousand impressions. Whether you get a hundred clicks on Google or Bing, it’s still a hundred clicks.

In this way, it doesn’t matter if the search volume on Google is that much bigger because you’re only interested in the size of the slice of pie that you want to engage anyway. Bing is still very much here and Microsoft isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And truth be told, Bing’s got a lot of great features and design elements that are arguably even better than the Google equivalent.

What are some of the key advantages that Bing ads have over Google ads?

● Less competition: As discussed above, less competition means that you have a much better shot at landing your best keywords on Bing. And for way less money. Like a third to a half of the cost.

● More platforms: Here’s something a lot of people don’t know. The Google search engine, by and large, is just Google. Bing, on the other hand, actually runs Bing, Yahoo, and AOL. When you run an ad on Bing, it runs on all three platforms. That’s a huge opportunity!

● Better CTR: While your mileage may vary, Bing ads tend to have higher click-thru rates, particularly in the search verticals of shopping and financial services.

● Bigger spend: According to Microsoft itself, the audience on the Bing Network spends 36 percent more online when shopping from their desktops than average Internet searchers. You want bigger initial sales? Bing is where it’s at.

● Older audience: Nearly three-quarters of users on Bing are over the age of 35. If you’re looking for an older, more educated audience, Bing is where you’ll find them.

● Less restrictive: Bing is generally less restrictive in certain policies, including the types of products you can advertise, as well as possible trademark issues.

● More automation: You need to move quickly and it doesn’t move any faster than when it’s automatic. Bing allows you to set automated rules so your campaign can adjust based on the rules and conditions you establish. Bing also allows for much more granular control, including better device targeting.

Better still, it’s super easy to transfer your existing Google campaigns over to Bing. All it takes is a simple sign-in and a couple swift clicks of the mouse. Check out Aragon Advertising for more information and how you can integrate Bing ads into your business.

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