Service · underrated channel
Microsoft Ads: smaller, cheaper, and usually neglected.
A fraction of Google's volume, and most advertisers treat it as a checkbox – import the campaigns, never look again. That neglect is precisely why the auction is thinner and the clicks cost less.
- From
- $2,500 / mo
- Typical budget
- 10–20% of Google
- Unique to it
- LinkedIn targeting
- Free audit
- ~5 working days
The case for it, honestly sized
Microsoft Ads will not replace Google. The search volume is a fraction and no amount of management changes that. What it offers is the same intent at lower cost, because far fewer advertisers bother to manage it properly.
For an account already profitable on Google, that usually makes it the cheapest incremental volume available. For an account not yet working on Google, it is a distraction.
Who you actually reach
Bing is the default search engine in Edge, which is the default browser on Windows, which is what most corporate IT departments deploy. The audience skews older and more corporate as a direct result.
For B2B software that skew is a feature. You are reaching people at machines their employer configured, during working hours, which correlates with the buying authority you want.
The thing that exists nowhere else
Microsoft owns LinkedIn, and Microsoft Ads lets you layer LinkedIn's company, industry and job-function data onto search campaigns.
Think about what that combination is. On Google you can reach someone searching for your category, but not filter by whether they work somewhere you want to sell to. On LinkedIn you can filter precisely, but you are interrupting rather than answering. Here you get both at once – high-intent search, narrowed to the companies and roles that matter.
| Channel | Intent | Firmographic targeting | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search | High – they searched | None | Highest |
| LinkedIn Ads | Low – interruption | Precise | High per click |
| Microsoft Ads + LinkedIn layer | High – they searched | Company, industry, function | Lower than Google |
Why imported campaigns underperform
Import copies structure. It does not copy the fact that the auction is different, the audience is different, and conversion rates rarely match. An account synced from Google and left alone inherits bids calibrated for a different market and negatives written for different search terms.
Managed separately – own bids, own negatives, own budget decisions – it behaves like a small, cheap, well-behaved search account. Managed as a mirror, it behaves like a rounding error someone forgot about.
One distinction worth keeping straight
ChatGPT's search layer leans on this class of index, which is why we tell every client to verify their site in Bing Webmaster Tools on day one and submit the sitemap there as well as to Google.
That is organic indexing. It has nothing to do with running ads, and anyone selling you Microsoft Ads as a route into AI answers is selling you something that does not work that way.
Questions people actually ask
- Is Microsoft Ads worth running at all?
- If you already run Google Ads profitably, almost always – the volume is a fraction, but competition is thinner and cost per click is usually lower. As a first and only channel it rarely makes sense, because the search volume is not there.
- Can we just import our Google campaigns?
- You can, and most accounts stop there, which is why most Microsoft accounts underperform. Import is a starting point. Bids, negatives and budgets all need separate management because the auction, the audience and the conversion rates are different.
- Who is actually on Bing?
- Skewed older and more corporate than Google, largely because Bing is the default in Edge and on managed work machines. For B2B software that is a genuinely useful skew – you are reaching people at desks their employer configured.
- What about LinkedIn targeting on Microsoft Ads?
- Microsoft owns LinkedIn, so you can layer company, industry and job function onto search campaigns. That combination – search intent plus firmographic targeting – does not exist anywhere else, and it is the single strongest reason for a B2B advertiser to be there.
- Does Microsoft Ads matter for AI search?
- Indirectly, and it is worth understanding the distinction. ChatGPT's search layer leans on that class of index, which is why we tell every client to verify in Bing Webmaster Tools on day one. That is organic indexing, not advertising – running ads does not buy you visibility in AI answers.
- What budget makes sense?
- Usually 10–20% of your Google spend, proportional to the available volume. Treating it as a small Google is the right mental model as long as you accept it needs real management rather than a sync.
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Related.
How we run the main search channel, and where LinkedIn's own platform earns its much higher click price.