With Google dominating search engine market share in most countries, many advertisers overlook or underestimate the value of Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads). That’s a missed opportunity. When used strategically, Bing can be a highly profitable addition to your SEM mix. Here’s why it deserves a place in your paid search strategy.
Why Advertise on Bing?
Diversification matters
Relying on a single platform is risky. Adding Bing helps diversify your traffic sources and reduces over-dependence on Google Ads, while still capturing high-intent search demand.
Higher impression share
Bing typically shows more ads above organic results, giving advertisers more visibility and premium SERP real estate compared to Google.
Lower CPCs
With less competition and more available ad inventory, cost per click on Bing is often significantly lower. This makes it an efficient channel for incremental volume without inflating acquisition costs.
Meaningful volume at scale
The Bing network includes Bing, Yahoo, and AOL, representing substantial reach:
~10% market share in the US
~5% in Europe
~15% in China
That translates to millions of users you may not reach through Google alone.
Search partners you can control
Bing’s search partners can provide incremental volume. With proper monitoring at the publisher level and smart exclusions, this traffic can be optimized rather than blindly accepted.
Access to a different audience
Bing tends to over-index on users aged 45+ and on female audiences. For certain verticals, this demographic skew can outperform Google in both conversion rate and lifetime value.
Easy campaign replication
Bing’s import and sync tools, available in both the UI and Ads Editor, make it easy to clone and maintain parity with your Google campaigns in minutes.
Solid tools and support
While smaller than Google, Microsoft Advertising offers strong campaign management tools and responsive support that can make day-to-day optimization easier.
Growing momentum
Since its integration with ChatGPT, Bing has seen increased visibility and engagement, accelerating adoption and daily usage across markets.
Incremental growth without margin pressure
For many advertisers, Bing can deliver an additional 10–20% or more in revenue and profit, often at better margins than Google.
Final takeaway
Don’t limit your SEM strategy to Google alone. Bing is no longer a secondary channel. When managed properly, it’s a powerful source of incremental, profitable growth. By adding Microsoft Advertising to your mix, you can reach new audiences, lower blended acquisition costs, and scale without sacrificing margins.
Featured contributor on the HubSpot
Sam Lauron Dec 14, 2023
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