Microsoft Ads for the buyers who search at work
Bing is the default search engine in Windows and Microsoft Edge, which puts it on a lot of office desks. We run Microsoft Ads as its own channel. We use LinkedIn profile data to bid more for the right people, and we track results back to HubSpot or your store.
Free, 30 minutes, and you'll leave with at least one clear next step.
Who do you reach with Microsoft Ads?
Microsoft Ads shows your ads on Bing and on partner sites that use Bing's results. It can also place ads in Microsoft's Copilot answers. Bing is the default in Windows search and in Edge, and many company computers keep those defaults. So a manager searching for a vendor at their desk may well be on Bing.
That makes it worth a look for any business whose buyers search from work laptops. For online stores it's a smaller, extra source of shoppers who already search for what you sell, usually run with the same product feed you use on Google.
What does LinkedIn data add to Microsoft Ads?
Microsoft owns LinkedIn. Microsoft Ads lets you raise bids for searchers based on their LinkedIn profile, such as the company they work at, their industry and their job function. This works on Search, Dynamic Search, Microsoft Shopping and Audience campaigns. Some accounts can use it in Performance Max too (Microsoft Advertising).
One detail matters a lot. LinkedIn profile targeting only changes your bid. It won't narrow your audience to those people. So you can bid higher when a manager at a target account searches for what you sell, and still show up for everyone else. Company lists have to be typed in by hand, up to 1,000 companies per campaign or ad group. We build them from your best accounts in HubSpot.
This is the main thing Microsoft Ads offers that Google search ads don't. Google bids on what someone searched. Microsoft can also bid on roughly who is searching.
How we run it for each kind of business
B2B and service businesses
- Search campaigns on the product and service terms your buyers use at work
- Higher bids for target companies, industries and job functions like purchasing, finance or operations
- Lifecycle stages sent from HubSpot to Microsoft Ads, so bidding learns from qualified leads
- Call and form tracking that matches what we track on Google, so the two compare fairly
- Office-hours ad schedules when your buyers only search on weekdays
Online stores
- Microsoft Shopping campaigns using your existing product feed
- Brand search kept separate, so brand sales don't inflate the results
- Purchase tracking with order values and order IDs from your store
- Returns taken out in our own report, the same way we do for Google and Meta
- Budgets set by what Microsoft adds to total sales rather than by its own dashboard
What we fix when we take over a copied Google account
- A one-time import from Google Ads, untouched since
- Scheduled imports that keep overwriting changes made for Bing's audience
- Conversion goals copied over but never tested, so Microsoft counts nothing or counts everything twice
- Negative keywords that exist on Google but were never added to Microsoft
- Bids and budgets set for Google's prices instead of Microsoft's own results
- No LinkedIn profile bids at all, which leaves the best feature unused
Does Microsoft Ads connect to HubSpot?
Yes. Any HubSpot plan can connect a Microsoft Advertising account to HubSpot's ads tool, and HubSpot will report on your campaigns (HubSpot). HubSpot can also send lifecycle stage changes to Microsoft as conversions. That way Microsoft learns which leads turned into sales opportunities (HubSpot).
Two details to know. Only lifecycle changes made after the event is set up count, so turn it on early. And Microsoft may count conversions differently from HubSpot, so the totals won't match exactly. We judge the channel on the HubSpot side. Our ad tracking and reporting page explains how we line the numbers up.
When isn't Microsoft Ads worth it?
Microsoft Ads is a smaller network than Google. If your Google search campaigns already struggle to find enough searches, Microsoft will find even fewer, and it may not be worth the time to manage. Get Google Ads working first, then add Microsoft as a second step.
It's also a weak fit when your buyers are young consumers shopping on their phones, or when the brand sells mostly through social discovery. Those brands get more from Meta ads. And if you sell to a short list of named accounts, LinkedIn ads reach those people directly instead of waiting for them to search.
What results should you expect from Microsoft Ads?
Expect fewer clicks and leads than Google, because fewer people search on Bing. The fair test is cost per qualified lead or cost per new customer, measured in HubSpot or your store and set next to the same number for Google.
We give a new Microsoft account a few months to prove itself on that number. If it matches or beats Google, it earns more budget. If it can't, we cut it back and tell you why. You won't pay us to keep a channel running out of habit.
Examples by industry
Bing's office-desk audience matters more in some industries than others. These pages go deeper.
- Manufacturing: bidding higher when a target account searches.
- Construction: reaching property and facility managers who search from work.
- Ecommerce: Microsoft Shopping from the feed you already have.
Microsoft Ads agency questions
Is Microsoft Ads the same as Bing Ads?
Yes. Bing Ads was renamed Microsoft Advertising. The ads still run mainly on Bing search, plus partner sites that use Bing's results and other Microsoft placements.
Can we just import our Google Ads campaigns into Microsoft?
You can, and it's a good starting point. But a copy left alone drifts out of date, and Google's bids and budgets rarely fit Microsoft. We import, then tune keywords, bids, conversion goals and LinkedIn profile bids for Microsoft on their own.
Does LinkedIn profile targeting in Microsoft Ads limit who sees our ads?
No. It only raises or lowers your bid for people who match. Everyone else who searches your keywords can still see the ad. To reach only certain people by title, LinkedIn's own ads are the right tool.
Can Microsoft Ads run Shopping ads for an online store?
Yes. Microsoft has its own Shopping campaigns and Merchant Center. We set up the product feed, often from the same source as your Google feed, and track orders back to your store.
Which businesses tend to do well on Bing?
Ones whose buyers search from work computers, like companies selling to managers, offices or other businesses. Older shoppers also lean toward Bing. We usually test it after Google search is working well.
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We'll look at your Google search terms and your buyer list, and tell you plainly whether Microsoft Ads is likely to add sales or just add work.