When Will's not in the office analyzing PPC campaigns and writing ad copy, you can find him going on walks, hanging out in coffee shops, and snacking on Double Stuf Oreos.
When it comes to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, most people think of Google Ads. Google’s advertising platform includes Google, YouTube, Gmail, the Google Display Network (GDN), and more. However, Google is not the only option for PPC advertising; there’s also Microsoft Advertising, which is more commonly known as Bing. With PPC, advertisers often go all-in on Google and elect not to advertise on Bing. But what if there are benefits to advertising on Bing over Google? Should advertisers allocate some of their PPC budget to Bing and not just Google?
Who Uses Bing?
When Bing is mentioned as a PPC option, a commonly asked question is “who uses Bing?” In December 2019, 127 million users in the U.S. drove more than 6 billion searches on the Microsoft Search Network (Bing). In all, the Microsoft Search Network accounted for 36.9% of the PC market share. Although there is a crossover between Bing and Google users, an estimated 66 million users exclusively search Bing. Advertising on Bing expands your coverage to millions of users that you will not reach on Google. Having a presence on both Google and Bing reinforces your brand with crossover users as well. Since Bing is often overlooked by advertisers, your business has an opportunity stand out and gain an advantage over your competitors. Odds are they are not advertising on Bing. Depending on your business or target audience, Bing’s demographics can help you reach them. Bing users tend to be older and more affluent, with the typical users being over the age of 35 and one in three Bing users having a household income of $100,000 or more. For those that use Microsoft devices at home or in the office, Bing is also the default search engine browser.
How Does Bing Compare to Google?
Advertisers face less competition on Bing compared to Google. The lower competition means that your ads are more likely to receive a favorable position and placement on the search engine results page. Receiving a favorable position can translate to a higher click-through rate (CTR) on your ad. Bing affords you the opportunity for a favorable ad position and higher user engagement – and at a lower cost-per-click (CPC). When comparing CPCs across search engines, Bing was 33.5% lower on average than Google. In turn, this can lead to a lower cost-per-acquisition (CPA), providing you more bang for your buck. Given the lower competition and average CPCs on Bing, advertisers do not have to allocate as large of a budget as they would for Google. Depending on how large your budget is, you may reach a point where advertising on Bing can provide you with a greater return than what the incremental budget would provide on Google. For instance, if your monthly PPC budget is $5,000 and you would like to add an additional $500, you can receive more exposure and coverage with that incremental $500 on Bing than you would on Google. Allocating that additional budget to Bing expands your footprint across search engines on a platform with less competition and lower average CPCs. In turn, you can receive more traffic and ultimately more conversions at a more efficient rate and spend.
What Do You Recommend?
Advertising across platforms provides your business to maximize coverage and build brand awareness with users. As you evaluate your budget for PPC, consider advertising on Bing in addition to Google. Although Bing may not have the same coverage as Google, its 127 million users, lower competition and average CPCs, and older, more affluent users provide a great opportunity to grow your business.
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